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A MODEKN MARTYR. 



THBOPHANB VBNABD. 

(THE VENERABLE.) 



TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY 



( LADY; HERBERT, nt.^.^ ticv^^^A.^ Ca^C^d 




REVISED AND ANNOTATED BY 

Rev. Jajmes An^thoxy Wai^sh, 

MISSIONARY APOSTOLIC, 



Society for the Propagation op the Faith, 

JiRCBDIOCESB OF BOSTON, 

f 5 UNION PARK STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

APR 13 t906 

n Copyright Entry 
COPY B.' 






imprimatur : 



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"The world martyrs the Church, and the Church subdues 
the world. The words of our Divine Lord are always verified, 
' I came not to send peace upon earth, but a sword.' The age 
of martyrs, as of miracles, never ceases. Martyrdom is a perpetual 
note upon the Mystical Body, which has the Stigmata of Jesus 
ever fresh upon it." — Cardinal Wiseman. 



Copyright, 1905. 



BOSTON: 

Washington Press, Printers, 

242 Dover Street. 

1905. 



FROM LADY HERBERT'S PREFACE. 

"Theophane Venard was no ascetic saint, trembling 
at every manifestation of human or natural feeling. 
He was eminently a tender and dutiful son; a most 
devoted and loving brother; an equally devoted and 
attached friend. Neither did he consider these warm 
affections incompatible with the great work to which 
he had given his life. His devotion to his sister, 
whom he calls *'part of his very life," shines through 
every page of this touching and beautiful correspond- 
ence. She is the first thought of his boyish years, she 
is his last thought in death. Yet all this strong human 
love did not prevent his sacrificing everything to God; 
leaving the home he loved so fondly, the sister he 
idolized, the family tie w^hich bound him with what 
others might have considered iron links, — everything, 
in fact, which made life dear, — when the voice of the 
Master called him to go forth from his people and his 
country into a strange and distant land, to preach 
His word and do His work, and save the souls for 
whom He died upon the Cross. This is the striking 
characteristic of the life before us — human love, sur- 
passing all ordinary home affections, willingly and 
joyfully offered up on the altar of our Lord for the 
salvation of the heathen who knew Him not." 



CONTENTS 



Introduction. 

CHAPTER I. PAGE 

Birth and School Days ....... i 

CHAPTER II. 

At College. Done and Montmorillon . . . . lo 

CHAPTER III. 

The Seminarian at Poitiers . . . . . . 21 

CHAPTER IV. 
Breaking Home Ties 35 

CHAPTER V. 

In Paris — The *' Missions Etrangeres " . . . . 48 

CHAPTER VI. 

Last Days in Paris — The Departure .... 62 

CHAPTER VIL 

The Voyage — Antwerp to Hong-Kong . . . . 81 

CHAPTER VIII. 

In Hong-Kong — Final Preparation .... 92 



CONTENTS CONTINUED. 

CHAPTER IX. PAG« 

Arrival at Tonquin . . , . . . . . io6 

CHAPTER X. 

Persecutions in Tonquin ; 117 

CHAPTER XI. 

Labors and Trials . . 126 

CHAPTER XII. 
Under Fire 146 

CHAPTER XIII. 

In the Caves . . . . . . . . . 162 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Arrest and Martyrdom . . . . . . . 174 

CHAPTER XV. 
First Anniversary and Retrospect ..... 208 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Afterword 217 

Hymn of Sister Therese . . . . . 226 
Chant of Departure - 228 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

J. Theophane Venard . . . . . Frontispiece "^ 

PAGE 

Boys at the Petit Seminaire i6 -^ 

St. Loup (General View) 36x/ 

Paris Seminary (Chapel) 48 / 

The River Thouet (St. Loup) 56 '^ 

Ceremony of Departure 78 *' 

The Rev. Prosper Delpech 96 / 

Soldiers in Tonquin 112 ^ 

The Venard Home (St. Loup) 130 / 

Bishop Theurel 146 > 

Tomb of Tu Due 160/- 

** MeLANIE *' IQZ ^ 

Interior of Parish Church (St. Loup) . 208^ 

Father Eusebius Venard 218*^ 

Father Eusebius Venard Entering his Presbytery, 224 



INTRODUCTION. 

In the city of Paris on the 5th day of June, 1852, 
two young men were ordained to the priesthood. One, 
born in Ireland twenty-three years before, was ap- 
pointed almost immediately to the chair of Funda- 
mental Dogma in the Seminary of St. Sulpice at Paris. 
Nineteen years later, during the revolt of the Com- 
munists, this priest, from his prison cell in the concier- 
gerie, defied his persecutors and narrowly escaped 
massacre. Afterwards, in 1884, he came to America 
and, until his death in 1900, gave to the clergy of the 
United States the ripened fruit of his broad and cul- 
tured mind. 

The other young man, a native of France, was or- 
dained for the foreign missions of Eastern Asia, and 
four months later sailed for Tonquin, at the southeast 
extremity of China, where, after seven years of apos- 
tolic labor, he was beheaded for the faith. 

These two young men were John Baptist Hogan, 
the late honored superior of St. John's Seminary in 
Boston, and Jean Theophane Yenard, now Venerable, 
the subject of this life. 

To Father Hogan, his early guide in the spiritual 
life, the editor of this volume is indebted for a first 
acquaintance with the life o f Theophane Venard, 
whose letters, read in Seminary days at Brighton, 
have always been a treasured memory. 

When, in 1903, the writer learned, at the Missions 



Etrangeres in Paris, that the martyr's youngest broth- 
er was still living, he arranged at once to visit him. 
With this visit began a cordial friendship which be- 
came more intimate during the past summer when the 
writer again spent several days with Eusebius Venard, 
now the venerable pastor of Assai, a little village in 
the diocese of Poitiers. Here were secured most of 
the photographs and extra data which appear in this 
volume. 



A few weeks after his visit to Assai the writer called, 
in London, upon Lady Herbert, to whom we are in- 
debted for the earlier translation into English of 
Theophane Venard's life, now out of print. 
Lady Herbert, though of advanced age, continues 
the wonderful mental activity which has char- 
acterized her life; and on this occasion, she ex- 
pressed the hope that her former work would be of 
some service, generously offering the writer perfect 
freedom in the use of the same. 

The latter has accepted Lady Herbert's kindness, 
and freely edited her translation, while taking special 
care not to depart from a substantial rendering of the 
original. He has also brought the "life" up to the 
present time, annotating the same from his own per- 
sonal experience. His only regret is that the pressure 
of many duties has not allowed him to add, in this 
edition, other letters and further details which he 
believes would be of interest to many. 

Gathedral, Boston, 
Feast of the Presentation, Nov. 21, 1905. 



A Modern Martyr 

hold the first place. His father, M. Jean Venard, 
whose family came originally from Anjou, filled the 
post of village school-master with as much ability as 
devotion to his duties. He gave up this fatiguing post 
only after thirty years of toil, to accept a position as 
justice-of-the-peace in the department of which St. 
Loup was the chief town. There his experience in 
business and his good judgment made him invaluable 
to his townspeople until the day when his laborious 
and useful labors were brought to a close. 

His wife, Mme. Marie Gueret, was a gentle, pious 
woman, simple and loving in character, entirely devoted 
to the care of her own home. She had six children, two 
of whom died as infants, but the others, Melanie, 
Theophane, Henry, and Eusebius, will all play an im- 
portant part in this little history. Under the direction 
of these good parents, Theophane Venard made rapid 
progress in virtue. He combined the loving, gentle 
character of his mother vv^ith the firmness and resolu- 
tion of his father. His contemporaries still talk of the 
amusing contrast between his small, baby figure and 
his grave, quiet manner. His greatest pleasure was 
to watch the goats or the cows on the hill-side, an oc- 
cupation which fostered his love of solitude, and his 
spirit of recollection. These hill sides and pleasant 
fields hold an important place in the story of the fu- 
ture missionary, for here the first thoughts of his voca- 
tion came upon him; and the feelings then inspired 
remained among the sweetest of his whole life. 

The country around St. Loup is very picturesque, 
but it owes its great fertility to the rivers, the Thouet 
and the Cebron, which intersect the valley in opposite 
directions. Between the beds of these two rivers is a 
hill-side called "Le Bel-Air," on account of its health- 



Theophane Venard 

ful situation and the glorious view on all sides. When 
Theophane was only nine years old, his delight was to 
pasture his father's goats on this spot with his sister 
or a friend. Here they would sing, or read books which 
they had borrowed from the pastor of the village. 
Among these books, the "Annals of the Propagation 
of the Faith" had the greatest charm for the little 
boy. One day he was reading aloud to his companions 
the life of the Venerable Charles Cornay, whose mar- 
tyrdom was then recent. The account of the suffer- 
ings and death of this martyr for Jesus Christ touched 
him even to tears, so that at the end he cried out, "And 
I too will go to Tonquin, and I too will be a martyr!'' 

Shortly afterwards, his father joined the little group, 
and Theophane, turning to him with a gravity very 
unusual at his age, said, "My father, how much is this 
field worth?" "Well, I really don't know exactly, my 
child," replied his father, "why do you ask?" "Be- 
cause," the boy answered, "if you could give it to 
me, and I could have it for my share, I would sell it, 
and then I should be able to go to college, and study." 
His father, surprised at such serious thoughts in one 
so young, put him off with some simple answer; but 
he thought over these words, which gave him a new 
light on the character and intentions of his son. He 
soon allowed the boy to learn Latin with one or two 
other children who went for that purpose to the pres- 
bytery, and Theophane succeeded so well that it was 
decided to send him to college for a regular course 
of study. 

At this time, the principal of the College of Doue, in 
the diocese of Angers, was a brother of the venerable 
pastor of St. Loup, and to him young Venard was sent 
in October, 1841, together v/ith a friend whom he had 

3 



A Modern Martyr 

known and loved from childhood. This friendship 
never cooled, and ten years afterwards Theophane 
wrote from Paris, — "Until I came to the Seminaire 
des Missions Etrangeres, the only intimate friend I 
ever had was one who had been born in my own vil- 
lage, and who was dear to me as my own soul. The 
same fatherly hand baptized us; side by side we sat 
on our benches at school; and at the very same time 
we were transplanted together to a new home, where 
another father received us both with open arms. My 
friend was older, cleverer, and wiser than I, and took 
a higher place in the College, but our friendship was 
not the least affected by this. He flew, and I crawled ; 
but we were each quite contented. I was transferred 
to the "Petit Seminaire"; and there we found each 
other again in the same cloister, sharing the same mas- 
ters, the same studies, the same companions. God, 
who had united us in childhood, gave us but one 
thought, one aim, and one object in life. But the day 
at last came when we were to be separated — my life 
seemed to be broken altogether ! But I have the firm 
hope that we shall be reunited in Heaven." 

No sooner was he fairly settled at college, than 
Theophane gave his whole mind to the fulfilment of 
his duties. He was a model to the other students, 
not only during the hours of study but also during 
recreation, when he showed himself the gayest of the 
whole party. He bore all ill-nature or contradiction 
with such good humour that those who were at first 
inclined to tease him, soon gave it up. The more 
people vexed him, or gave him pain, the greater was 
his kindness towards them, and he rarely failed to 
win their hearts and make them ashamed of their 
previous behaviour. 

4 



Theophane Venard 

He gladly entered into all the little private devo- 
tions of the students, which were in harmony with 
his taste and affections. Even as a child he had vowed 
a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin. He was 
inscribed among the children of Mary, at Notre Dame 
des Victoires, and enrolled himself in the work of the 
Propagation of the Faith, determined to help mission- 
aries as far as he could, until he became one himself. 
He tried also to lead, as much as he was permitted, 
a mortified life; and on a winter's day, one of the 
masters, seeing him suffer very much from chilblains 
on his hands and feet, having asked him to warm him- 
self by the comfortable fire in his room, Theophane 
refused, exclaiming, ''The missionaries you were talk- 
ing to us about last night, sir, suffered much more 
than that!'' 

He had a passion for reading, and delighted in the 
lives of children of his own age, and especially of those 
who had suffered martyrdom. All these holy disposi- 
tions were fostered by the thoughts of his first Com- 
munion, which was approaching; and for which, un- 
like the generality of boys, he prepared himself with 
the utmost anxiety and care. 

"The day is almost come," he wrote to his parents, 
''that day which I have so earnestly desired ! the most 
beautiful day in my whole life! Please pray to the 
Blessed Virgin for me, that I may receive her Son 
worthily, for I feel I can never prepare myself suffi- 
ciently for so solemn an occasion. I beg you, there- 
fore, to forgive me any faults I may have committed 
against you, and to give me your blessing." 

Great as had been his previous doubts and fears, 
when the time came, his joy knew no bounds. "I 
remember him perfectly on that day," wrote one of 

5 



A Modern Martyr 

his tutors. ''He seemed not able to contain himself 
for happiness." From that hour began his great devo- 
tion to the Blessed Sacrament. He would steal away 
for a visit during recreation. ''I often used to open 
the door of the chapel softly to see if he was there," 
wrote the same master, ''and was always edified by 
his wonderful spirit of recollection. Sometimes I 
forced him to go out to play with his companions, as 
I thought it necessary for his health; then devotion 
gave place to instant obedience." 

But a great sorrow was hanging over his head for 
which Theophane would need all the strength his 
Lord had vouchsafed to him in the Sacrament of His 
love. After two happy months spent with his family, 
he was obliged to part with his mother to return to 
college, and he foresaw that their parting would be 
a final one. Very soon after, in fact, she expired 
calmly in the arms of her husband, leaving him the 
care of their four little children. The blow to Theo- 
phane was terrible. Nevertheless, his first thought 
was how he could best console the mourners at home. 

"Dearest papa," he writes, "when you wrote me 
that my darling mother was very weak and sufifering, 
I flattered myself that our prayers and tears would 
win from God the preservation of her life. But just 
now the head-master has told me of the terrible mis- 
fortune which has befallen us. O my God, help me to 
say, 'Thy Will be done! The hour fixed by Him was 
at hand, and she has had to leave us, and is gone to be 
our protector in Heaven with the two little angels to 
whom she gave birth. Once more, may His Holy 
Name be blessed! It is thus He tries His creatures 
here below. Putting on the buckler of faith, we will 
have recourse to religion, which alone can comfort 

6 



Theophane Venard 

us in such sorrows. But it is very, very bitter. I have 
cried till I can cry no longer, and I have prayed with 
all my heart for her dear soul. May she at this mo- 
ment be in the enjoyment of the Beatific Vision with 
His elect! May the Saviour whom she ever loved 
and whom she strove to serve, receive her into His 
kingdom.'' 

But our Lord reserved to Theophane a special con- 
solation. Many years after the event, and at the 
moment when he was about to leave his family for 
ever, he broke silence on the subject, and said, ''I 
think I may assure you positively that our good mother 
is in Heaven. I tell you this for your comfort ; but I 
have never spoken of it before, and I must beg of you 
not to repeat it to any one. At the time of her death, 
one night when I was watching in prayer, an angel 
took me by the hand and led me, as it were, into a great 
and wonderful Light, in the midst of which, surround- 
ed by other glorified bodies, I distinctly saw her whom 
we so fondly loved, and for whom we had wept so 
bitterly." From the time of this great sorrow the 
links which bound brother and sister were drawn 
closer, and a correspondence began between Theo- 
phane and his sister, Melanie, which ceased only with 
death. Their letters remain as models of tenderness 
and holy inspirations, v/hile they are most attractive 
in point of style and taste. Speaking on this subject, 
the Bishop of Poitiers says, '^It is in this outpouring 
of heart to heart that we see his extreme delicacy of 
feeling, his loving thoughtfulness, his graceful imagi- 
nation, and the good judgment which balanced all 
his other qualities. We have read these letters again 
and again with ever-increasing pleasure, and we trust 



A Modern Martyr 

we shall be forgiven if we have watered some of 
them with our tears/' 

In the course of the winter of 1844, Theophane 
v/rites, "I must send you a few lines, my dearest sister, 
for there is not a day, nor scarcely an hour, when I 
do not think of you, who are so very dear to me. I 
know you too are thinking of me, and I daresay you 
will be saying, 'Oh, my poor old brother will be so 
cold this winter; and here am I enjoying a good big 
iire !' Be comforted ; though I have suffered from the 
cold, as you know I always do, yet I have had some 
fun out of it too, for we have had famous skating. 
And now the weather is milder, and I am thawing, 
and pouring out some of my thoughts to my second 
self." 

Soon after, his brother Henry joined Theophane at 
the College; and it was impossible not to be touched 
at the care which the elder took of the younger, so as 
to spare him the usual schoolboy troubles. In 1845, 
the Children of Mary Sodality was established in the 
College, and Theophane announced this event with 
joy to his sister. He was made sacristan of his chapel, 
an honour v/hich he greatly coveted, as it not only 
gave him the care of the altar, but enabled him to 
steal away oftener for prayer. ''Yesterday,'' he wrote 
to Melanie, 'T went to say my rosary in the chapel; 
and I don't know why, but I was very sad, and I began 
to cry Hke a child ; but all the time I had a wonderful, 
interior consolation, and every thing appeared to me in 
a supernatural light. . . . Very often, when I am 
at work, my thoughts tly back to you. I seem to see 
you going lightly about the house, singing softly as 
is your wont, and doing things for our father and the 
children and everybody. I follow you in thought 

8 



Theophane Venard * 

everywhere. Although so far apart, our thoughts, 
our wishes, our aspirations seem to be one. Oh, what 
a blessed thing it is, this communion of souls, to be 
able to pray for each other, and to pray for our loved 
ones together! A sort of peace and calm comes over 
me then. Do you know, the other day, on the Feast 
of our Patron Saint, at Benediction, kneeling before 
the Blessed Sacrament, the Blessed Virgin seemed to 
smile amidst her flowers and tapers, and I thought of 
you, who I know^ were then at the Sodality Vespers. 
I prayed so hard for you, and I felt you were doing the 
same for me and as if our prayers were one. And then 
I felt so happy, so relieved. But I should like to be 
with you again in body as w^ell as in spirit. Oh, when 
shall we cease to be separated ? When shall we be able 
to live together as we did as children and share all 
our troubles and all our joys?" 

It seemed as if a vision of the future were before 
him — that future which was to be so great a struggle 
to flesh and blood. But we must not anticipate. 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER 11. 

At College. Doue and Montmorillon. 

On New Year's Eve, 1847, Theophane wrote to his 
father from Doue: — 

''Here we are in the midst of piercing frost and cold ; 
but if the winter numbs our limbs, at least it does not 
freeze our hearts. Whatever happens — whether my 
chilblains disappear or not — I can't let New Year's 
Day pass without scribbling a few lines to repeat once 
more to you my hearty prayers and wishes for your 
happiness. People declare that New Year's Day is 
the day for telling lies. Let those say so who tell them. 
As for me I always welcome the return of the anniver- 
sary as an occasion for renewing the expressions of 
my old childhood's love. In one word, dearest papa, 
I wish you many, many happy New Years." 

At this time Theophane was eighteen. In spite of 
having given himself up to God from his youth, the 
devil filled him v/ith doubts and temptations when it 
came to a question of deciding on his future voca- 
tion, and, as usual, his sister is the confidante of his 
troubles : — 

"My dearest Melanie, — We must talk a little of the 
Blessed Virgin, for I feel as if I had not spoken enough 

10 



Theophane Venard 

of her this year. Can it be that I have changed? I 
think not; but other thoughts preoccupy me just now. 
I am nearly at the end of my classes here and yet I 
seem to have no clear conception of my future. This 
worries me very much. I always thought I was called 
to the priesthood. Sometimes I say to myself, 
'What a glorious thing it is to be a priest!' 'What it 
must mean to say one's first Mass!' But then for 
that one must be so good! — so pure! — like one of 
God's angels. That is why I still hesitate. Please to 
unite your prayers with mine, that I may discern God's 
will in the matter. Will you ? But why do I ask ? 
I know you will, and I want you to give me your 
communion the first Sunday in Lent with this intention, 
and I will prepare myself for the same." 

A little later he writes, ^'O my dearest sister, do 
write to me at once, for I look only to you for com- 
fort. Bring back hope to my poor sad heart; that is 
your mission, you know. As regards me, I should like 
to laugh and be merry with you ; but I have not the 
heart. I wait for vour letter with the greatest anxi- 
ety." 

Still his heart turned towards Mary in the midst 
of his greatest distresses: ''O Mary, how I love the 
word ! Mary, refuge of sorrowful hearts ! Mary, 
under whose wing we have both sheltered ourselves, 
like little children with their mother at the approach 
of the enemy. I love Mar}^, but I think you, my dear- 
est sister, love her more.". . . Then he comes back 
to his previous sorrow. "I get so wear}^ of life and 
of everything, I don't know what to do. It is only 
to you that I dare own such a thing. But you, you are 
half of myself. You are more than my sister — you 
are my guardian angel." 

11 



A Modern Martyr 

At last, by God's grace, peace came back to his 
soul, and he writes, — 

^'Dearest Melanie, — Thank you, my good little sis- 
ter, thank you a thousand times for your delicious 
letter. Oh what good it has done me ! Once more I 
thank you with all my heart, that's all I can say. Here 
is the month of Mary nearly over ! It is high time we 
should talk about her a little. We too have special 
devotions every day for Mary's month, and I delight 
in decorating her altar. We have a quantity of beau- 
tiful roses in the garden here. The largest and sweet- 
est, you may be sure, I keep for our tender, good 
Mother, and it is a great pleasure to offer her fresh 
ones every morning. I fear the hands and the heart 
that bring them are miserably unworthy; but she is 
so good, she receives everybody! Well may we call 
her 'Comfort of the Afflicted,' and 'Refuge of Sinners.' 

**Oh, if you did but know how my poor old head 
works when I am all alone, and can't sleep for think- 
ing! Oh, how happy I should be in a quiet country 
parish with my Melanie ! I would guide the good peo- 
ple to try and save their souls, and you would have 
care of the church ; and together we would labour for 
God, and talk of Him and of His Mother, and of all 
those we have loved and lost. But one thought troub- 
les me in the midst of these castles in the air. All this 
is very good and very pleasant certainly ; but when it 
comes to the point, what is the Priesthood? Is it not 
the entire detachment from all worldly goods — a com- 
plete abandonment of all temporal interests ? To be a 
Priest, one should be a Saint. To guide others, one 
must first learn to guide oneself. Then should not the 
life of a good Priest be one of continual sacrifice, self- 

12 



Theophane Venard 

immolation, and mortification of all kinds? How in 
the world should I ever have the courage to embrace 
such a life, — I who am so little advanced in the paths 
of virtue, or of penance ? 

''These are my thoughts, darling sister, and they 
ahvays come back to the same. 

''But when I pray God to enlighten me, I seem to 
hear an interior voice ever singing, 'Thou must be a 
Priest'; 'God gives His grace to all who ask Him.' 
Then a great peace seems to come over me, and I find 
myself happy and contented. You will say, 'What on 
earth am I to conclude from all this?' Why, that the 
choice of a vocation is a terrible thing, and that who- 
ever thinks of it seriously is in a desperate difficulty. 

"But as concerns myself, I hope, in spite of my 
unworthiness, that God w411 have pity upon me. Our 
God is a Father, and a most tender Father; and we 
have besides a powerful Advocate in one who deigns 
to be our Mother." 

But in Melanie's own heart the struggle was going 
on likewise as to the choice of a vocation, and the 
mutual difficulties and the entire confidence which they 
had in each other bound them, if possible, still more 
closely. In Theophane's mind his sister appeared more 
and more holy, while his own love for God was un- 
consciously increasing in like proportion. 

He writes again to her, "You may be quite sure that 
I am true to my promise, and if you pray for me I 
feel sometimes as if my life were one prayer for you. 
But though you will laugh at me for saying so, I can't 
help sometimes, when I am asking God and His saints 
to enlighten us, I can't help, I say, wishing for what 
you do not desire. I hear you say, 'But this is not 



A Modern Martyr 

right ; this is not really loving me/ Don't be angry, the 
thought is repented of as soon as conceived. But 
the fact is, I cannot bear the idea of a total separation. 
I am afraid this arises from selfishness on my part; 
never mind, it is only a slight shade. No, dearest Me- 
lanie! believe this, — I will never try for an instant to 
turn you from any generous or holy project. I should 
be afraid of robbing you of your crown! But I tell 
you frankly that to lose you would be a terrible sacri- 
fice on my part. Every time the thought comes across 
my mind, I beg for the grace of God to enable me to 
bear it, if it be His will that you should go and leave 
us. I only wish for your highest happiness. You say 
that God calls you. If so, so much the better for you ! 
I can only envy your lot, and hope that some day I 
may have the like favour. Let us leave to our dear 
Lord and Master to direct our future ; our only busi- 
ness is to strive to correspond with His grace as far 
as we possibly can." 

Theophane was going upwards with rapid strides, 
and not content with the Priesthood, was beginning to 
thirst after the higher glories of the Apostolate. He 
said himself later that he was, as it were, led by the 
hand, not knowing whither he was going. The fol- 
lowing memorandum, found among his copy-books, 
and dated June 17th, 1847, shows the working of his 
mind at that time : — 

'To-day in the chapel of the College at Done, I 
made a vow to Mary, Refuge of Sinners, to say my 
Rosary every day, in order to obtain a special grace 
from God.'' 

In the following letter to his sister, he gives an 
enthusiatic description of the procession on the Festival 

14 



Theophane Venard 

of Corpus Christi, and concludes with the words, ''If 
reHgious services on earth are so glorious, what must 
they be in Heaven ? Eternity ! Have you ever thought 
of this word? Eternal, Eternal! a thing which 
will never, never end. Reflecting on such subjects 
sometimes overwhelms me, although I am still 
inclined to be giddy and thoughtless. I try occa- 
sionally to find some kind of theory about it which I 
can comprehend; but when I have made my plan I 
only feel, 'Oh what a goose I am!' and then all my 
fine building crumbles away." 

Theophane had remained six years at the College of 
Done, and already gave promise of great ability. His 
frank, sweet-tempered nature made him a universal 
favourite, while his piety, sound judgment, and high 
principle won the respect and confidence of his tutors. 
Although kind to every one, he kept his love for 
his own family and for two or three of his compan- 
ions; and on these he lavished all the wealth of his 
affectionate, loving heart. This devotion to his family 
and to one or two congenial souls far exceeded any 
ordinary love or friendship, and seemed to be permitted 
by God in order to show the full power of His grace, 
which hereafter would wean him from all human ties, 
and say to him, as to Abraham, "Go forth out of thy 
country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's 
house, and come into the land which I shall show 
thee." 

As to his personal appearance, although under the 
middle height, he had a peculiarly pleasing and taking 
appearance, with a frank expression, a clear complex- 
ion — slightly tinged with red — bright eyes, and a very 

15 



A Modern Martyr 

fascinating manner/^ He was above the average in 
his studies, always bringing home the first prizes ; and 
he had a great talent for poetry and other kinds of 
composition. 

At the vacation in 1847 h^ 1^^^ school, and in the 
month of October entered what is called ''Le Petit 
Seminaire'' at Montmorillon. He was very happy 
here, and wrote to his sister, "From the bottom of my 
heart, dearest Melanie, I do assure you I never was so 
happy. . . . tCor unum et anima una, this is the 
motto of the congregation ! Such w^ords can only 
come from God Himself! Is not that the link which 
united all Christians to each other ? Is it not this feel- 
ing which creates the Missionary, the Priest, the 
Christian Brother, the Sister of Charity. Cor unum, 
we can apply it to ourselves, for our love and our 
hopes are one. Oh, yes. Cor unum et anima una! 
We can say so now, and we shall be able to say so 
still better later, if God calls you to serve Him more 
distinctly. Go, go, my dear, good sister, I will 
never stop you, notwithstanding the sorrow I cannot 
help feeling at the idea. But think a little bit of our 
father, our dear, good father. I pray for you every 
day, that God may deign to enlighten us both, and 
show us His Holy Will." 

There was nothing gloomy or repelling in his relig- 
ion. On the contrary, he was always cheerful and 
merry, but especially at Montmorillon, where his en- 
train and gaiety became proverbial, and the little feasts 



'The hair was dark, almost black. The writer recently brought 
from St. Loup a few relics, including some locks of hair, cut 
before Theophane's departure. A daguerrotype in the home of 
Fr. Eusebius Venard at Assai, gives the truest likeness. [Ed. 

tone heart and one mind. 
16 




w 

< 

w 
W I 

Ph S 

w I 

H 
< 

> 

O 



Theophane Venard 

of which he was the presiding genius will be remem- 
bered as long as his generation remains."^ 

In spite of his gaiety and fmi, however, Theophane 
had a strong groundwork of serious and deep feeling, 
which came out in his letters to his little brother, of 
which we will give some extracts here : — 

''My dear little Eusebius, — Well, how do you like 
school? Are the lessons very hard? very disagree- 
able? Courage ! you are just now at the bottom of the 
ladder. Very soon you will get on, and see the fruit 
of your work. Have you found any fellows that you 
like? have you jolly games together? Tell me all. I 
so often think of my poor little brother, and wish I 
could be with him, especially in these first weeks of 
his school life. . . It is half-past six in the evening. 
The wind blows through the chinks of the door ; isn't 
it bitter ? But I feel so for you, my poor little man. I 
am sure your poor little toes and paws are all over 
chilblains, as mine used to be ; and the tip of your nose 
is all frozen, isn't it ? Ah ! but that's the true life of a 
schoolboy ! We go to learn to bear ; but let us leave 
the winter behind, and wish one another a very, very 
happy New Year, and Paradise by and by, though I 
hope not just yet, as I don't feel disposed to give up 
my little brother so soon, I recollect in old times how 

♦Montmorillon is only a short journey from Poitiers, and in the 
early part of July, 1905, the writer spent a pleasant day and 
night at the ''petit seminaire." Several new frescoes adorn the 
chapel, one describing in detail the martyrdom of Theophane 
Venard, the others being devoted to two more of the alumni 
who have also won the martyr's crown. The members of the 
Seminary faculty, a body of bright, active young diocesan 
priests, were most gracious and attentive to the "American" in- 
terested in their saintly pupil, and the students of English on 
this occasion enjoyed the novelty of hearing English spoken 
without a French accent. The traditions of the house have 
hardly changed since Theophane and Eusebius Venard lived 
here. [Ed. 

17 



A Modern Martyr 

you used to long for New Year's Day, but then that 
was all for the presents and sugar-plums. Now, alas ! 
there are no presents and no goodies — only lessons. 
Oh, dear! But by and by you will be glad to have 
learned something, so as to be more fit to fulfil the du- 
ties God will appoint for you in life, and so win Heav- 
en. For that, dear Eusebius, and that alone, must be 
the object of all our actions. Work hard, work well, 
not to get praise, or honour, or prizes, but because you 
will thus please God. Take this as the maxim of your 
life: 'All for our good God.' Don't neglect your 
prayers. Be docile to your superiors, for they are set 
over you by God ; be loving and kind to your compan- 
ions, and then everybody will love you, and you will 
be really happy." 

Then came his little brother's first Communion, and 
Theophane writes, — 

''My dear little brother has just made a great step 
in life, and a step towards another world. For one 
little moment you paused and pitched your tent, and 
looked back to all your childish faults, faults which 
the world counts little, but which a Christian judges of 
differently; and kneeling at the feet of God's priest, 
3^ou have told him of all these little failings and short- 
comings, and he has lifted off the burden from your 
shoulders with the words of absolution in the name 
of the Thrice Holy God. You have become once more 
innocent as a little child, and the friend of the angels ; 
and you have received Him whom the heaven of heav- 
ens cannot contain. Oh, the inexpressible happiness 
of the child's first Communion! Who can describe 
that mystery of love ? Only angels know that lan- 

18 



Theophane Venard 

guage. May you understand it, too, my dear little 
angel on earth !"^ 

Theophane was now eighteen ; his year of philosophy 
was over, and he was about to be transferred from 
the "Petit" to the "Grand Seminaire," but first he was 
allowed to go home, and his joy found vent in the 
following words: — 

"In a month more I shall see the sky of my native 
valley ; how happy the thought makes me ! My friends 
at the 'Grand Seminaire' begin their vacation a month 
sooner, which makes me rather envious. Well, the 
time will soon slip by. My schoolboy life is at an end ; 
it has not been without its trials, but it has had its 
sweets too. For the moment I feel as if I wanted the 
fresh air of my own dear home to strengthen me, body 
and soul. Till now I have not lived, so to speak. I 
am going to begin. Every living thing seems to me 
to follow its vocation. The river flows to the sea, 
and the plant germinates, and the animal feeds and 
grows, and man lives and draws daily nearer to God. 
But each man walks after his own fashion. The busi- 
ness of one is to cultivate the soil; another, the intel- 
lect. Handicrafts supply the material wants of man- 
kind; politics, the social. One and all gravitate tow- 
ards their end, which is death, although each follows a 
different path. In one sense man has a free will, 
but he can scarcely be said to choose his career; it 
is almost always marked out for him. If he wanders 
from it nothing but confusion is the result. Well, I 
am longing to work and to find my place in the world, 



*Eusebms Venard is today the venerable Cure of Assai, a small 
town about five miles from the railway station at Airvault, and 
less than four miles from the paternal home at St. Loup. Fr. 
Venard has been pastor of Assai for more than forty years. [Ed. 

19 



A Modern Martyr 

to spend and be spent for my brethren. Whatever 
course be proposed to me, I always come back to that 
— to be a Priest. No other career has the least at- 
traction for me. Yes, one day I shall be the soldier of 
Jesus Christ, and fight under the banner of the Church, 
and the day will soon dawn for the fulfilment of that 
wish. That is why I feel so happy at the thought of 
going home so soon. A week or two among my own 
people, and then to my cell and to my vocation for 
evermore." 



20 



Theophane Venard 



CHAPTER III. 

The Seminarian at Poitiers. 

Theophane Venard entered the "Grand Semi- 
nary," as we have seen, with the firm determination to 
become a Priest. He understood at once how im- 
portant the training there given would be to him ; and 
the shortness of the time allowed made him grasp at 
every opportunity to improve himself, especially as re- 
garded his sanctification. With a clear and subtle in- 
tellect, and abilities very much above the common, he 
at once distinguished himself among his companions; 
but none of these qualities made him lose sight of the 
great virtue of humility, which he cultivated assidu- 
ously, so as always to try and escape notice by burying 
himself among the rest. He also made charity act as 
the handmaid of humility; and therefore not only re- 
frained from any unkind act or word, but denied him- 
self many of those little sharp and amusing "repartees" 
which his wit and sense of fun made often very tempt- 
ing to him; preferring to pass for one who was dull 
and could not enter into a joke, than to wound in the 
sm.allest degree the feelings of another. "I do not 
think this was the least remarkable of his virtues," 
wrote one of his college friends. 

His regularity in his work attracted the attention of 
all his masters; and he even began to have a sort of 
scruple as to the length of his letters to his family. 
His cell was his delight, and he realized the promises 

21 



A Modern Martyr 

in the ''Imitation" to those who jealously guard their 
little sanctuary. 

''Every thing speaks to me in my cell/' he writes to 
his sister. "I love it as a mother loves her child. Every 
thing about it encourages me to charity and devotion. 
I come in ; to the right is my holy water stoup, and it 
seems to say to me, 'Your cell is your sanctuary ; noth- 
ing impure must enter it/ and so I leave my worldli- 
ness at the door, and purify myself with holy water. 
I walk towards the window, and look out on the sky, 
and I say to myself. Up there a place is reserved for 
you; work and struggle hard to win it.' Then I beg 
of our Lord to 'bless my labour, and lest any strange 
thought should disturb my mind, there hangs my Cru- 
cifix, preaching for ever by the Divine example. Then 
above my book-case, the Cross stretches out its arms 
and covers me with its shadow ; and soon I shall have 
also the picture of Mary immaculate watching over 
her Child. You fancy that I may have some troubles 
in my present life, dear Melanie ? No ; I do assure you 
this place is to me a paradise upon earth. Every one 
is happy here, even those who, like me, are far from 
being saints!'' 

At the same time he was ever mindful of his home 
ties, and seized every little opportunity for opening 
his heart to his family. "How good you are to me!" 
he wrote one day, "and how I love you for your ten- 
der thought of me ! I said, T want some sleeves,' and 
in a trice here they are! 'I should like a curtain for 
my window,' and there it hangs, keeping out all curi- 
ous eyes. I wanted some money, and behold, here it is, 
without my asking! as well as half a dozen minor 
thino-s which make my little establishment complete. 
Only one thing is lacking and that is time! A little 

22 



Theophane Venard 

quarter of an hour to say, 'Thank you!' and again 
Thank you!"' 

On one occasion he describes to his family the de- 
parture of one of the Seminarians for the Foreign 
Missions, and his secret wish for the first time broke 
forth : ''Several vocations of the like nature have de- 
x:lared themselves," he exclaims. ''It is quite glorious ! 
We are in a state of excitement and enthusiasm about 
it not to be described." These words awoke some 
fears at home, especially in the heart of the sister who 
knew him best: and he writes in reply, "So my news 
troubled you, dear little sister, did it? But is there 
any thing so very extraordinary in one among us de- 
voting himself to the salvation of the heathen? Why, 
one talks of going to be a Jesuit; another, to La 
Trappe ; another to China ; and so on ! Oh, if you 
think there are no events and no gossip in the Semi- 
nary, you are very much mistaken. But you have cre- 
ated a whole world of hope and fears out of that one 
little sentence of mine ! I can scarcely help laughing. 
Another time, don't let your imagination run wdld, 
but sleep in peace." 

In this humble and hidden life, like that of his Mas- 
ter at Nazareth, nothing is so striking as the way he 
passed from the natural to the supernatural. Every 
thing spoke to him of God. One day after telling his 
brother how at Easter he had changed his room, and 
altered the arrangement of his things, he adds, 'Tt is 
quite an event for me, this change ; and now I am 
going to w^ork aw^ay wnth fresh courage, for one 
thought pursues me, and seems to me to be at the 
bottom of all one's college Hfe. 

"Why have I come here?" Ad quid venisti? Why 
come to a theological seminary? It is to go through 

23 



A Modern Martyr 

a certain course of instruction, you will say. Well, 
but that course comes to an end; and then? . . . Oh, 
when that thought comes to me, I can simply bow my 
head, and beg God to answer me. I will do as He 
shall appoint.'' 

The ceremonies and anniversaries of the Church as 
celebrated in the Seminary impressed him strongly, 
and were the constant subjects of his letters. On 
Good Friday he was specially moved, and wrote as fol- 
lows : — 

*'Oh, this is indeed a sad and exceptional day at the 
Seminary! . . . To see us all mournfully wandering 
here and there in the cloisters, without a sound being 
heard, not a voice, not even a whisper, one would 
imagine we were sheep without a shepherd. And it is 
quite true; the Pastor of pastors is dead; the Pastor 
has given His life for His sheep." 

These thoughts, which seemed to come naturally to 
the young theological student, were often poured out 
to his brother and sister. With his younger brother, 
especially, it seemed to him the best and most delicate 
way of making him take an interest in serious things 
without disgusting him by lectures, or appearing to be 
always ''preaching'' to him. 'T like to think of you 
on these occasions," he wrote one day, ''and I fancy I 
see you, so recollected in prayer, so studious in class, 
so merry and gay at recreation, and making us all so 
glad and happy ! for to be good is to be happy ; and we 
cannot be thoroughly happy unless you are the same." 

In the faithful practice of all these relative duties, 
Theophane made the best preparation for the priest- 
hood. The Christmas ordination, at which he had only 
assisted as a spectator, had touched him to the quick. 

24 



Theophane Venard 

When that of Trinity came around, he was desired to 
prepare himself for the first step by receiving the ton- 
sure. 

''My dearest Sister/' he writes, ''to-morrow I am to 
be tonsured; that is, I shall no longer belong to the 
world, but to our Lord. I shall say to Him, 'My God, 
Thou art the portion of my heritage, and of my lot. 
Thou wilt give me a place in Thy Heavenly King- 
dom.' I shall say to the Blessed Virgin, 'Regina cleri, 
ora pro nobis I'f Oh how proud I shall be to wear on 
my head the crown of the saints ! that crown to obtain 
which it would not be too much to devote one's whole 
life!" 

But his happiness was to be delayed some time 
owing to the death of the beloved bishop of the 
diocese. In so public a calamity his generous soul 
could not think for a moment of a personal disappoint- 
ment which had been swallowed up in the general 
mourning. Just before the long vacation his father's 
feast-day occurred; and in spite of the press of 
work before the examinations, he found time to w^ite 
a few loving words : "My dearest Father, — I try to 
fancy myself with you on Saturday evening, and em- 
brace you with all my heart, w^hile offering you the 
flower which most expresses my humble but devoted 
love. O Thou who art the Master of life and death, 
preserve to us our darling father; w^atch over him, 
and keep him in all his ways now^ and ever." 

The first year of his seminary life w^as over, and it 
had been fruitful in gifts and graces. But always 
afraid of himself, and fearful lest he should relax dur- 
ing the long vacation, he wTOte out a series of Resolu- 
tions, which vve will give verbatim: — 

tQiieen of the Clergy, pray for us. 
2.5 



A Modern Martyr 

July I, 1849. 
A. M. D. G. 

Some Resolutions for the Holidays. 

One year of my seminary life is already past, and I 
must give an account of this time of retreat and sancti- 
fication. Alas ! where are the graces which I have ac- 
quired? My God, Thou hast searched me out, and 
known me. Even the angels are not pure in Thy 
sight; and what am I? . . . O my divine Redeemer, 
have mercy upon me. Deign to accept my penitence, 
and to bless the resolutions which, with the help of 
Thy grace, I hope to make for the future. Virgin 
Mother! thou who from my childhood I have chosen, 
pray for me, for thou art my refuge and my strength. 
''Refugium peccatorum, or a pro nobis T'^ 

1. I will get up the moment I wake, offering my 
heart to Jesus and Mary. I will never get up later 
than six. If I serve the six o'clock Mass, I will say 
my prayers and the little hours afterwards. If the 
eight o'clock, then I will say them all before, together 
with my meditation and the study of a certain portion 
of Holy Scripture. The rest of the office I will say 
in the evening at separate times. 

2. I will make a particular Examen every day be- 
fore luncheon at two o'clock. This examination to 
consist of a few minutes' meditation on faith, charity, 
modesty, interior recollection, &c., &c., with a special 
consideration of the way in which I have practised 
each. At the end of the month I will make a general 
examination, to prevent my relapsing into laxity or 
indifference. 

tRefuge of Sinners, pray for us. 
26 



Theophane Venard 

3. In the course of the afternoon or evening I will 
make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, making use of 
St A. Liguori's Exercises on the subject. I will also 
take for my meditation book the ''Memoriale Vitae 
Sacer dot alls'' (by Claude Arvisenet) besides the ''Imi- 
tation" and the Holy Scriptures, both of which I 
always carry with me. 

4. Directly after breakfast I will spend an hour or 
so in working either at my holiday task or at the Holy 
Scriptures. In the evening, after Vespers and Comp- 
line, I will study again a little bit, but on less serious 
subjects. I could do this while walking, or when I 
am waiting at the Cure's. 

5. In my intercourse with the outside world, I will 
try and be most careful in speech. I will be gentle and 
kind towards every one, and especially towards my 
own family. Should the occasion present itself, I will 
never neglect to say a little word of our good God, 
especially to the children. But I will do this with 
great caution, remembering that deeds are worth 
more than words. 

6. On Feast days I will work between Mass and 
Vespers if I have time. On those days I will try and 
keep up a greater spirit of recollection. 

7. Of all these Resolutions, there are one or two 
which I must strictly put into practice ; such as prayer, 
the particular Examen, the visit to the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, and the spiritual reading of the ''Imitation" or 
the "Memoriale." 

As to the other points I may be less severe; espe- 
cially if my friends or companions insist upon my ac- 
companying them in a walk or on a party of pleasure. 
In fact, I must be careful to do nothing singular or 
out of the way, so as to excite observation ; all affecta- 

27 



A Modern Martyr 

tion, therefore, is tabooed. True merit is hidden and 
simple, and dreads nothing more than pubHcity. If 
I can only keep always humble, charitable, and mod- 
est, I may escape some of the dangers of my long va- 
cation. I am sure good examples will not be wanting 
to me; and then, have I not the grace of God? '^Domi- 
nus custodiat te. Dominus protectio Hia. Omnia pos- 
sum in CO qui me confortat,'''\ 

T. Venard. 

No mention is made in this little Rule of Life of the 
frequentation of the Sacraments or other devotions; 
but as he followed strictly the rule of the Seminary 
in all these points, it was not necessary to speak of 
them. No mention is made either of the Rosary. It 
was said every evening in his family circle, and Theo- 
phane presided at it during his holidays as a matter of 
course. Some readers may be surprised at this Rule 
being so simple, and with so few austerities. But it 
arose from his determination to keep it strictly, so that 
it should not be a dead letter. Moreover, he thought 
it right for the sake of those around him to share in 
their simple pleasures, and in the expeditions and pic- 
nics which took place during his visit. His greatest 
delight was to be w4th his sister, and to talk with her 
of holy things and of their future vocations ; and daily 
was the soul of each strengthened by their mutual in- 
tercourse. 

Two months after his return to the Seminary (on 
the 8th of December), Mgr. Pie, the new Bishop of 
Poitiers, made his solemn entry into his episcopal 
town. The sight of this young and saintlike Bishop 



tThe Lord will keep thee; the Lord is thy protector. I can do all 
things in Him who strengtheneth me. 

28 



Theophane Venard 

had a great effect on Theophane, and all the more as 
it ensured the Christmas ordination, when he was to 
receive the tonsure. From that moment he consid- 
ered himself as set apart for the priesthood, and re- 
doubled his zeal and fervour. At the Trinity ordina- 
tion, in 1850, he received minor orders, and wrote to 
his father, *'Oh what a grand day is that of one's Ordi- 
nation! How I wish you had been here to share in 
my joy! But you will come, will you not, when the 
great and final step is taken ? You will add your bless- 
ing to the rest ? Oh, it seems as if I could hardly wait 
patiently for the dawning of such a great day!" 

The vacation came round again, and Theophane 
took the opportunity to open his heart more entirely to 
his sister, both for his own consolation and because he 
knew that her faith would triumph over all human 
considerations, and help him to overcome the shrink- 
ings of his loving heart as he thought over a separation 
which would probably be final. He spent almost the 
whole time at home, and employed part of it in help- 
ing his brother to make a little grass terrace at the foot 
of the garden,"^ where, he fancied, after his departure, 
they would all be able to sit and think of the absent 
one whom they had freely given for God's work. On 
his return to the seminary he seems to have redoubled 
his efforts to profit by this last year of study and 
preparation for his future career. But he did not ne- 
glect others in thinking of himself, and his letters to 



*The Venard home at St. Loup is still in possession of the family, 
but at present it is rented to a good woman who gladly wel- 
comes the occasional visitor. According to the custom of the 
country, a high stone wall encloses the long, narrow garden In 
the rear, where during a recent visit, Fr. Eusebius pointed out 
to the writer here and there in this little garden, filled with 
vegetable beds, rose-trees and lilies,— the many fruits of Theo- 
phane's vacation labors. [Ed, 



29 



A Modern Martyr 

his little brother and to his sister are more frequent 
than ever. To the former he writes on the beauty of 
piety in the young, adding, however, ''Now don't im- 
agine it necessary to put on a sour face, or to look 
sanctimonious. True devotion is natural, gay, and 
bright, according to the words of St. Paul, 'Gaudete 
in Domino semper; iterum dico, gattdete.' ''f 

To his sister he writes more as to an equal. 

"I rejoice, my darling Melanie, to see you growing 
every day in fervour and the love of God. I am sure 
we shall both try and not forget that humility is the 
base of all perfection, and that obedience is its 
guardian. Do read Rodriguez's article on Humility in 
his work on Christian Perfection. But do not let this 
book give you any scruples, as it is addressed to nuns, 
and one must not confound absolute precepts with 
practices which vary according to the position and 
duties of each person. ... I quite understand what 
you say in your letters about the sacrifice hanging over 
our heads. Courage ! God only asks of us our good 
will ; His grace does the rest. What I am most afraid 
of, is lest you should be discouraged. The Christian 
motto is Hope! Hope on! hope ever! Be very gen- 
erous to our good God. Try and leave all things to 
Him, without trouble or preoccupation. 'In quietness 
and confidence shall be your strength.' If you feel you 
have been wanting in such sentiments, make a little act 
of contrition, and then rise again quickly with renewed 
courage. In this way we shall really feel as children 
of God in the holy liberty wherewith Christ has made 
us free. To be truly humble; to fly from this world's 
notice; to hold ourselves continually as in the pres- 

tRejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. 

30 



Theophane Venard 

ence of God; to be little in our own eyes, — these are 
the dispositions most pleasing to Him, and which are 
easier for you to practise than for many others, on 
account of your quiet, hidden life, very like that of 
the Holy Family at Nazareth. ... A great step must 
soon be taken — the sub-diaconate — a step for life and 
for eternity ! Oh, pray for me, that I may in all things 
follow God's will, and that I may fully know what 
He requires of me. Say the 'Memorare' frequently 
for me with this intention. You know how I thank 
and love you beforehand for all you have already done 
for me in that and a thousand other ways." 

To his father he writes, in view of his approaching 
vows: 

'T am now at an age when my future career must 
be decided upon, and perhaps there may yet be a ques- 
tion of my marriage. All this might have been a sub- 
ject of great anxiety and trouble to you. But, my 
dearest father, I have chosen my own path. Do not 
seek an earthly partner for me. Our Lord has called 
me, utterly unworthy as I am. He has asked for my 
whole heart, for my body, soul, and spirit, and can I 
refuse Him what is His ? And then I turn in thought 
to you, from whom, next to God, I have received all — 
to you, my darling father, and I ask, do not you wish 
the same thing for me? Are you not willing to give 
me up to God? To give me up without reserve; to 
make a complete sacrifice of your child? Oh, I am 
sure you will say yes! For if you have a father's 
heart, you have equally the heart of a fervent, loving 
Catholic. . . . But I would add one word more. Is 
it not the father who takes the bride to the house of 
God ? Who gives her to her spouse ? Do not her friends 

31 



A Modern Martyr 

and relatives accompany her ? Oh, I am sure you will 
do the same by me! You will come to this my mar- 
riage, the mysterious union which joins a human soul 
to its Creator. You will come to offer to God the 
child He has given you. You will come and bless me 
not only in your own name, but in that of her who I 
feel sure is now helping us with her prayers before 
the Throne of God. You will bless me for my mother.'' 

We add to this touching letter the few words he 
addressed to his godmother on the same occasion: — 
'T hasten to tell you a piece of news. Perhaps my 
dear godmother has forgotten that the little child she 
carried to the Baptismal Font is now twenty-one, the 
age required by the Church for the office of sub-dea- 
con. Well, I have made up my mind, or rather it is 
not I that have settled it, but God, who has chosen 
one so miserable and unworthy as I to serve at His 
altar. And can I say 'No' ? I can only adore the mercy 
of God, and nature must submit. So, on the 21st of 
this month I am to be ordained sub-deacon. My 
father, I trust, will come to the sacrifice of his son ; 
but I have no mother left on earth. Dare I ask my 
godmother — my mother in the order of grace — to 
take her place?'' 

The day of immolation came, and the sacrifice was 
consummated. Then the young sub-deacon sought 
his Director with the words, '*Now I am ready — ^you 
will no longer oppose my wish? you will let me go?" 
And the good and prudent Director assented, and at 
once wrote to Paris to obtain his admittance to the 
Foreign Mission Seminary. His much-loved sister 
and little brother w^ere unable to be present at his 

32 



Theophane Venard 

ordination; but to console them he wrote the follow- 
ing:— 

''Dearest Melanie, — Your brother is at last a sub- 
deacon! My soul overflows with joy, but with a joy so 
sweet and so pure that I cannot express it. I should 
like to be able to tell you all I feel, but I cannot put it 
into w^ords. I took the terrible step without trembling. 
God, in His infinite goodness, spared me the agony of 
fear at the moment. My knees did not knock against 
each other, nor did my foot fail me. When I was 
stretched on the pavement I was only filled with a sol- 
emn calm ; but when I got up I felt as if I had broken 
every link, as if I were for the first time free — free 
like a little bird who has escaped from the snare of the 
fowler. Oh, how willingly would I then have flown 
up to heaven !" 

To his brother he writes more gaily: — 

"My dear little Eusebius, — Henry IV. said. 
'Hang thyself, brave Crillon ! we have won a victory, 
and thou wert not there !' I shall say, too, 'You were 
not there when your poor old brother, prostrate on 
the pavement, gave himself irrevocably to God !' But 
I know well that it was not your fault, therefore please 
not to hang yourself! but help me to thank our dear 
Lord for the great grace He has bestowed upon me. 
and for the happiness with which I am filled. Gratias 
Deo super inenarrabUi dono ejiis!'\ Oh, it was a 
great day, and a day that has no ending — quae nescit 
occasiiin diet! its dawn will be brighter and brighter 
until we come to eternity. And now, my dearest little 
brother, I feel as if I had acquired a right to say to 

tThanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. 
33 



A Modern Martyr 

you, 'Do not love the world or its pleasures.' They 
are all seemingly attractive and beautiful; but within 
all is corruption, vileness, emptiness, and remorse. O 
my brother, let us love God, our dear, good God, and 
be as sheep under His hand ! Love Him, and you will 
have no cause for repentance even on this earth. He, 
too, promises us joys and pleasures, but they are joys 
certain, inexpressible, eternal, — pax Dei quae exsu- 
perat omnem sensuni!'''\ 

The answer soon came from Paris, and it was fa- 
vourable. Then the young student began to make 
liis preparations to leave the Poitiers Seminary, bid 
adieu to his family, and start joyfully for that house 
which for more than two centuries has trained Apos- 
tles for Eastern Asia. 

tThe peace of God which surpasseth all understanding. 



U 



Theophane Venard 



CHAPTER IV. 

Breaking Home Ties. 

Theophane's departure for the Paris Seminary 
was definitely settled, and it became necessary to break 
the news to his family, and especially to his father, 
who, proud of his son, had already made endless 
plans for his future advancement. Theophane 
knew this; and although he thoroughly appreciated 
his father's courage and generosity, he yet shrunk, as 
his favourite child, from inflicting a blow which, he 
well knew, would annihilate all his father's hopes. 
Nevertheless, he could not bear that a strange hand 
should give the tidings, and so he summoned courage 
to pen the following letter, which we give in its en- 
tirety. 

''February 7, 1851. 

"My dearest Father, — It is a little more than a 
month ago that, to my great joy, you came to wtiness 
my consecration to the service of God. You, yourself, 
as it were, presented the victim at the altar. A poor 
and miserable offering indeed! yet such as it was our 
Lord in His infinite mercy accepted it. And since 
that moment how the time has flown ! God guides the 
hearts of men, and they follow as He leads. God, as it 
were, took me by the hand, and spoke to me with an 
irresistible voice, *My son !' He said, 'come, follow Me, 
fear nothing; you are little, and poor, and weak, and 
miserable, but I am the Almighty God. Come, I will 

35 



A Modern Martyr 

be with thee !' and I, can I have a will in presence of 
the will of God? 

"My dearly-loved father, have you understood me? 
One day God said to Abraham, 'Take thy only-begot- 
ten son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land 
of Vision; and there thou shalt offer him for a holo- 
caust upon one of the mountains which I shall show 
thee.' And Abraham obeyed without a moment's hesi- 
tation, and without a murmur ; and his obedience was 
most pleasing to God. Now, my dearest father, do 
you begin to understand me? Here am I, the child 
whom you love.; I have not borrowed a strange pen to 
tell you the truth. I come openly, without any subter- 
fuges, unworthy of us both. God calls me ; yes, it is 
His call. Oh, call me likewise; say that you, too^ are 
willing that your Theophane should become a mis- 
sionary ! 

"Poor father! the word is said, — the Foreign Mis- 
sions, Do not let your human nature shrink from the 
thought. Rather kneel and take your crucifix, that 
crucifix which received my mother's last breath, and 
say, ^My God, I consent, may Thy holy will be done. 
Amen.' 

"O my father, forgive me for having struck the 
blow myself ! Some people will tell you I am mad, 
ungrateful, a bad son, and I know not what besides. 
My darling father, you will not think so ! I know you 
have a great and generous soul, and one that has drunk 
deeply at the only true source of real strength and 
greatness— that of Religion and Faith. I have sad- 
dened your heart ; my own is sorrowful and heavy 
too. The sacrifice asked of us is hard — most hard! 
But, O Lord Jesus! since Thou dost will it, I will it 
likewise, and so willeth my father. 

36 



kA 




G 

> 

a 
"a 

U 

<u 

M 

H 



Theophane Venard 

"Courage, then, my dearest father — courage, and 
resignation and confidence in God and in His Holy 
Mother. Let us pray for each other. Father, I kneel 
at your feet. Bless your child, and believe in his re- 
spectful devotion and dutiful submission. 

"Theophane Venard, Sub-deacon." 

As he knew beforehand, this letter came upon his 
father as a thunder-clap ; nevertheless the blow did not 
leave a sting behind, for M. Venard was a large- 
hearted and generous Catholic. His answer, which we 
subjoin, was one of consent, and a consent so heartily 
given that it rivalled the sublime virtue of his son. 
One day, when a friend was trying to console M. 
Venard by assuring him that his son's vocation had 
been abundantly weighed and proved by his superiors 
before they gave their assent, he exclaimed, "And 
what would become of the prophecy of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who declared that His Gospel should be 
preached throughout the whole earth, if directors of 
colleges and heads of families were to check the as- 
pirations of all the young students who wish to em- 
bark for the foreign missions?'' 

Such was the frank, loyal, generous nature of the 
father of the future missionary, and his character is 
well shown in the following letter: — 

"St Loup, February 12, 1851. 

"My dearest well-beloved Son, — I will not at- 
tempt to describe the emotion your letter caused me. 
I fancy you had calculated beforehand the force of 
the blow. You may well say that the sacrifice is hard. 
Your ordination cost me nothing. On the contrary, it 
fulfilled my fondest wishes for you, and I was quite 

37 



A Modern Martyr 

content. But now everything is changed. All my 
plans are upset. Well may people say, 'Man proposes, 
and God disposes.' I had flattered myself that you 
would some day have a parish near me, that I should 
be able to make over everything to Henry, and then 
come and finish my days quietly under your roof, so 
that you should close my eyes. Happy, but, alas ! 
hopeless illusions. 

''My child, I cannot attempt to try and turn you 
from your great and holy resolutions. Neither will I 
sadden your heart by reproaches. I will content my- 
self with asking if, at your age, you think you can 
really arrive at so serious a decision, and not regret it 
hereafter? But if you are resolved, if you feel that 
God has indeed called you, then I would say, 'Obey 
Him without hesitation.' Let nothing keep you back. 
Not even the thought of the poor old father whom 
you leave in his sorrowful desolation, nor of the pa- 
ternal roof which will no longer shelter you. Enough ; 
I know that he who puts his hand to the plough must 
not look behind him ; I know also that he who leaves 
father and mother to follow his Lord will receive an 
eternal recompense, and such reasons are unanswer- 
able. ... I could not reply to your letter at once, my 
dearest son, for poor human nature would have its way 
at first. But to-day I am a little calmer, and I hasten 
to fulfil your wishes. You ask for my consent. I give 
it to you without restriction. My blessing — O my dear- 
est boy, why should I refuse it to you ? You know that 
I belong only to my children, and that you may always 
reckon on me. All that gives you pleasure gives it 
to me likewise, cost what it will. My sacrifices began 
when you first went to school, and I was separated 
from you ; they went on increasing year by year, and 

38 



Theophane Venard 

now God knows where they are to end! Well, I can 
only resign myself and leave all in the hands of God, 
who, perhaps, will give me back my Isaac, as you have 
compared me to the Father of the Faithful. 

"Do not let my letter sadden you too much. I can- 
not put my ideas down as I wish, but you will guess 
my thoughts. Let us hope that God will sustain us 
both in this great trial. Although your sister knew of 
your intention beforehand, she was terribly affected 
by your declaration, for she flattered herself the time 
was still far off. But, as you say, the time is short. 
. . . Henry saw at once that there was something the 
matter, but I have told him nothing as yet. x\nd poor 
little Eusebius, whom you were to mould and form, 
is he to lose his model and his guide? Forgive my 
saying this — forgive your poor old father, who lives 
but in his children. I feel I have gone too far, and 
that I shall give you pain, and you don't deserve it. 

''Bear in mind, then, that I freely give my consent 
to your plans. Be at peace, and do not trouble about 
me. The hand of God is everywhere. I love you 
with all my heart and embrace you tenderly. 

Venard." 

So the future missionary could go to the Foreign 
Mission Seminary without fear, and instead of the 
anger of his father, he was to meet with nothing but 
love and blessings. Theophane's feelings found vent 
in the following letter to his sister: — 

''My darling Sister, — Oh, how I cried when I read 
your letter ! Yes, I knew well the sorrow I was going 
to bring upon my family, and especially upon you, my 
dear little sister. But don't you think it cost me tears 
of blood, too, to take such a step, and give you all such 

39 



A Modern Martyr 

pain ? Who ever cared more for home and a home Hf e 
than I ? All my happiness here below was centred in 
it. But God, who had united us all in links of the 
tenderest affection, wished to wean me from it. Oh, 
Avhat a fight and a struggle I have had with my poor 
human nature ! But then our Lord, who asked the 
sacrifice at my hands, gave me the strength to accom- 
plish it. He did more. He gave me the courage to 
offer myself the bitter chalice to those I loved. I un- 
dertook it because I knew you all so well, and I was 
full of faith and hope ; and that hope has not been dis- 
appointed. And now I can only adore His mercy, and 
praise Him who has led me so tenderly through this 
terrible trial. 

"Can it be, then, that family ties and family joys 
are not holy and blessed? Has God forbidden them? 
Or were our hearts too absorbed in them, so that God, 
to punish us, wished to withdraw them altogether ? Or 
are we all gone crazy? No! no! a thousand times na! 
Let the world say what it will. What matters it to us, 
children of Grace, who have received the heavenly 
promises? The world and its maxims have long ago 
had their condemnation from the mouth of our Divine 
Lord Himself. Ah ! Lord God, Thy thoughts are not 
as our thoughts, and Thou walkest by paths of which 
the world knows nothing. 

•'See, my dearest sister, how He has led us until 
now. We had a good and darling mother, and she 
was taken from us just as we were entering upon 
life. How^ we have cried for her ! But God took pity 
on her children. He has given you strength and wis- 
dom to take her place in the family. Then another 
sacrifice was asked of us. You, my good little sister, 
had long given yourself to God. You wanted to do 

40 



Theophane Venard 

so altogether, but Providence contented itself with 
3^our will and your submission, and did not exact the 
consummation of the sacrifice. But God was watch- 
ing over your poor brother. He was conducting him 
as by the hand in a path traced out by Himself. Oh, 
miracle of Grace ! Oh, the depth and the riches of the 
goodness and mercy of God! He Who needs not hu- 
man instruments to accomplish His great designs, 
chooses the vilest, the most miserable of His creatures 
to do His work. I, wretched little I, receive the mis- 
sion and the inspiration of the Apostolate. . . . Dear- 
est sister, say with me that our God is good — infinitely 
good. Let all the earth echo the words and repeat 
them in a transport of gratitude and joy. See how our 
Lord loves us. See how He showers His gifts upon 
us. One more sacrifice is asked of us ; but does not 
our Lord prove those He loves so as to make them 
more worthy of Himself? Must we not all pass 
through the crucible? A cross is given to us. Let us 
embrace it generously, and thank Him. Our tears 
must flow. Well, let us oflfer them up to Him who has 
called them forth. This earth is after all but a valley 
of tears ; and the Divine iMaster has said, 'Blessed are 
those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.' And 
then, even if we do part here for a little time, it is only 
our bodies that are separated. Our souls are united 
more closely than ever in thoughts which know no 
space or distance. We shall meet one another in 
heaven. Yes, all of us shall be together then. Let us 
trust in God, and make the sacrifice generously. And 
then you have Henry ; and God will watch over poor 
little Eusebius. Let us pray and trust and hope, and 
remain united to each other in the hearts of Jesus and 
Mary. . . And now I must add a line to my dear 

41 



A Modern Martyr 

father. You don't know how proud I am to be his son ! 
I long to feel myself m his arms, pressed to his heart. 
. . . My father, with your great courage, firm faith, 
burning love — all for God — even your Theophane! 
Dearest father, these souls that I am going to strive 
and win for our Lord I offer them all to you, next to 
God. They will be your crown and your glory in the 
Home of the Elect. 

"I am going away, but I leave you an angel of con- 
solation — a loving guardian angel — in Melanie. When 
the time of your pilgrimage is over, Melanie will close 
your eyes, will pray by your bedside, and will speak 
to you of your poor little missionary; and you will 
bless her and him too. But why do I speak of death? 
Oh, please God, you will live many, many years yet to 
be the joy and the providence of your children! The 
little missionary will get letters from you from time 
to time, and new^s of all the famih^, and that will be 
a great joy to him. I hope also to spend a good long 
fortnight with my dear ones at home and enjoy them 
thoroughly before I start." 

The ''little missionary" accordingly came home on 
Saturday, the 15th February. He arranged to w^alk 
from Parthenay, so as to meet his brother Henry, and 
have a talk with him before they saw their father. The 
only idea of something extraordinary about to happen 
was from a little note which Theophane had written to 
both his brothers in these words : 'T implore you to 
say the 'Memorare' for me ever}^ day till we meet that 
T may obtain a great grace. You will soon know why." 
But the poor children were far from guessing the 
truth. 

Henry, being then eighteen, at once understood the 



Theophane Venard 

gravity and importance of the step which his brother 
was about to take. As for poor little Eusebius, his 
uncertainty came to an end the next day when Theo- 
phane came to carry him off for a fortnight from his 
studies. He had set his heart on having his whole 
family together on this occasion, so as to enjoy for the 
last time the happiness w^hich such a home circle alone 
can give. 

It is easy to understand how trying these last few 
days were to them all; but to Theophane they were 
the hardest. He had to be tender, affectionate, and 
loving to every one, and yet firm and determined in 
his resolution to leave them. At times he could 
scarcely contain himself, and had to do incessant vio- 
lence to his own heart to maintain any kind of decent 
calm. But he acquitted himself marvellously. 

We cannot attempt to describe his first meeting with 
his father. They embraced each other closely in si- 
lence, without tears or sighs. Only after a time the 
words, ''My dearest boy!" "My good father!'' burst 
from the lips of each. These few words said all to 
those who could feel and understand what was passing 
in two such loving hearts. 

These touching scenes were renewed very often in 
the course of this trying fortnight, especially towards 
evening, near the fireside after dinner, when there 
would often be a dead silence, the father contenting 
himself with pressing his son's hand, not daring to 
trust himself to speak. The future missionary would 
try and cheer them all by droll stories, or interest them 
in the countries he was so soon to visit. At last 
he excited them so much on the subject of China and 
the missions, that nothing would content Melanie and 
her brothers but the thought of going too. They 

43 



A Modern Martyr 

made a thousand little plans, in which each was to 
share in his labours. ''And what is to become of me?'' 
at last exclaimed their father, who had been silently 
listening to their jSne projects; ''am I to be left like 
poor old Zebedee to mend my nets? Rather than that 
I will go too/' Indeed he several times told his son 
that nothing but his duty to his other children kept 
him back, adding that he had no longer anything else 
to bind him; and that all he asked of God was to be 
allowed time to launch his children in life, and then 
sing his "Nunc Dimittis." 

So the days sped on, only too rapidly, and each 
evening became more sad as it grew nearer to the 
one which was to hear the last farewell. Poor Melanie 
felt the strain especially, and every night would linger 
after the others to get the last kiss and the last word. 
There was always something more to say and the 
last night of all they made no attempt to retire. 
Melanie had several little things to add to his outfit; 
and he sat watching her, saying as many loving things 
as his sad heart would allow. Ten years later, Theo- 
phane, then a Confessor for the Faith, remembered 
every single incident of that night, which consoled 
him even in the bottom of his cage. Only two days 
before his martyrdom, he wrote to his sister, "It 
was alone with you that I passed that delicious night 
of the 26th February, 1851 ; that night at home which 
was the scene of our last interview on earth, spent in 
holy, helpful, consoling talk like that of St. Benedict 
and his sister." 

The day of departure came at last. The whole 
family sought strength where alone it could be found, 
and received Holy Communion together. Theophane 
served the Mass with a rapt manner and expression, 

44 



Theophane Venard 

which made him look more Hke an angel than a man. 
Then came farewell visits to friends and relatives, 
when he tried to turn aside sorrowful thoughts and 
anticipations by a bright, gay manner, and occasional 
little jokes; yet he owned afterwards that he was 
nearly suffocated with sorrow. One visit cost him 
many tears, — it was to the churchyard, to the tomb 
of his mother, whom he had so idolized, and from 
whom he had been separated at the hour of her death, 
so that he had never had her dying blessing — to him a 
cause of eternal regret. He could scarcely tear him- 
self away from those precious remains. And yet the 
thought of this visit was most consoling to him after- 
wards, and he always spoke of it with tears of grati- 
tude. 

The hour of departure was fixed for nine o'clock in 
the evening. Theophane had chosen that time to 
avoid a crowd of anxious and sympathizing friends; 
his brother and one old friend were to drive him to 
Parthenay where he would take the night train. They 
sat down to dinner earlier than usual, the good old 
pastor of the village having joined them; and Theo- 
phane, by almost superhuman eflforts, succeeded in 
making the meal cheerful, almost gay. But a few 
words from his father towards the end brought back 
sad and sorrowful thoughts, and they all became more 
and more silent. The dinner was over and the time 
of departure was drawing nearer every moment. As 
usual they said the Rosary together, then read a chap- 
ter from the Imitation, after which they knelt for 
Evening Prayers. No one had the courage to lead 
except Theophane himself, and as he went on the 
sobs and tears of his little audience became more 
pronounced. Whatever restraint we may put upon our 

45 



A Modern Martyr 

feelings before men, the barrier breaks down when we 
find ourselves alone with God! Theophane with diffi- 
culty finished the prayer, and approaching his father 
said, ''The hour is come; we must part. My father, 
will you not bless your son, your poor little Theo- 
phane ?'' As he spoke, he threw himself at his father's 
feet, embracing his knees. The poor father lifted his 
eyes and his hands to Heaven, and with a broken 
voice, making the sign of the Cross on his child's 
head, said, ''My dearest son, receive the blessing of 
your father, who ofifers you a willing sacrifice to our 
Lord. May you be blessed for ever and for ever, in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost. Amen !" 

Then Theophane rising, knelt for a moment in the 
same way for the good old priest's blessing, and rap- 
idly kissed his whole family, as he did each evening 
before going to bed; but this was for the last time! 
Henry went out to see if the carriage was ready. 
Eusebius threw himself into his brother's arms, sob- 
bing as if his little heart would break. Melanie, kiss- 
ing him and crying "Only once more," fell back almost 
fainting on her chair. The poor father, still and im- 
movable from excess of sorrow leaned heavily on the 
arm of his old friend the Cure. 

"Courage! let us be generous in our sacrifices!" 
murmured the poor missionary. He could bear no 
more. With one last kiss to his half-unconscious 
sister, he seized his cloak and hat, and rushed into 
the carriage. Then several friends and townspeople 
crowded round him, to shake hands for the last time. 
He wrung their hands, exclaiming "Good-bye! good- 
bye ! we shall meet in our true home," and the carriage 
set oflF rapidly for Parthenay. The sacrifice was over, 

46 



Theophane Venard 

and M. Venard without wronging his other children 
could say, '*I have lost the fairest flower in my gar- 
den !" The delay at the moment of departure, though 
silght, made them miss the train at Parthfenay by five 
minutes. This was a minor but very real trial to our 
poor Theophane, who longed for the final parting to 
be over. But there was no help for it, and so Theo- 
phane and Henry waited for the next train, which 
started at six o'clock in the morning. His brother 
remarked that when once settled in the railway car- 
riage, Theophane looked away, and burying his face 
in his hands, cried bitterly and uncontrollably to re- 
lieve the poor heart which had with such difficulty 
contained itself during the long ordeal."^ 



♦Henry, who now lives with his brother, Fr. Eusebius, at Assai, 
remembers this night vividly. [Ed. 



47 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER V. 
In Paris — The ** Missions Etrangeres." 

Three days after the sad parting we have just 
recorded; Theophane left Poitiers for Paris, and ar- 
rived at the Foreign Mission Seminary. "I had hardly 
come into the house/' he wrote to his sister, "when I 
was met with affectionate greetings on all sides, and 
every kindness was showered upon me. One hoisted 
up my trunk into my cell ; another uncorded it ; a third 
made my bed and showed me where my little estab- 
lishment was to be; a fourth took me all over the 
house, introduced me to the Directors, and showed me 
the garden. In half an hour I felt as if I knew them 
all intimately. Oh, the good their welcome did to my 
poor sad heart! There is nothing like the love and 
charity of this house and the way they make one feel 
immediately at home." 

This spirit of charity and mutual kindness is the 
distinguishing characteristic of the Foreign Mission 
Seminary in Paris. Its Divine fire is carefully main- 
tained by its superiors as the best means of spreading 
its genial rays to the extremities of the heathen world. 
In the heart of a great city, and in a world gone drunk 
with dissipation and all kinds of business, these young 
men find an abode of peace and quietness indeed, but 
no ascetic solitude. Rather is it a home where each 
strives to be foremost in loving, kindly ways, and con- 
sideration for the others; and the Holy Spirit seems 

48 




PARIS SEMINARY FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 
The Chapel. 



Theophane Venard 

specially to bless this atmosphere of mutual charity 
and forbearance; and to pour His sevenfold gifts on 
the future Apostles, who are learning in that best of 
schools — for it is our Lord's, — the school of love/^*' 

Theophane was thoroughly happy here, although 
it did not altogether do away with the bitterness of 
separation from those he held most dear. 

He writes, ''We are all like one family, with one 
object and one aim. We have no care or troubles and 
I should have nothing left to desire if you were by 
my side. I am greatly touched by your anxiety about 
me, my dearest father , but you must let me scold you 
about this a little bit. Am I not more than ever the 
child of Providence ? Did you not yourself give me up 
to Him? He who watches over the birds of the air 
and the flowers of the field, will He not take care of 
me wherever I may be ? I cannot help longing for you, 
and missing you terribly sometimes; but love suffers 
and is resigned, and the thoughts of Heaven grow 
more vivid as we get more detached from all on earth. 
Only a little more trust! A little more confidence in 
God! A little more patience! and the end will come, 
and the past weary years will seem as nothing; then 
will arrive the moment of reunion, and all will be 
amply compensated for and repaid, principal and in- 



*The writer has been privileged to remain as a guest at the Mis- 
sions Etrangeres in Paris. The atmosphere of this house is 
indescribable. One feels about him tbe presence of a purely- 
unselfish love of God. The recreations are full of life, the stu- 
dents at times even boisterous, though never rough; sadness 
finds no resting place on the features of these bright young men 
who are preparing to be apostles, perhaps martyrs. Any con- 
sciousness of the spirit of self-sacrifice, which to an eminent 
degree they all possess, is entirely lacking. On the contrary, 
humility expresses itself so naturally in their words and acts, 
that one dwelling among these chosen souls hardly realizes the 
heroism of purpose and the burning love with which they are 
animated. [Ed. 

49 



A Modern Martyr 

terest. O Christian hope! How beautiful thou art! 
How thou dost satisfy the heart of man, the creature 
of a day, and yet created for an eternity of bHss!'' 

His family could not rise at once to his spiritual 
view of the future, and their letters were full of the 
void he had left behind, and their despair at losing him. 
His answers, therefore, were written at this time to 
heal the wound he had caused, and he had always a 
kind and loving word for the consolation of each. To 
Henry he writes, "Your letter touched me deeply, 
especially where you say that the thought of me is 
not enough — that you want my bodily presence to com- 
fort you. I feel just the same about you all. My 
thoughts fly home to the little room where you all are 
in the evening, and to my place by Melanie's side, and 
to the thousand and one recollections of our boyhood. 
But it is God's Will that we should be separated. May 
that Will be for ever blessed ! After all, are we not 
bound for the same haven? Will not the gaps in the 
family circle then be filled up ? Nay, more, are we not 
already expected up there by one most near and dear 
to us? You recollect our last visit before leaving 
home — the visit paid at your suggestion — to the ceme- 
tery, where we prayed and cried so together for our 
darling mother? Well, very soon we shall go and 
join her; and the links that bind us are tightened at 
the thought, and the time which seems so long and 
weary is bridged over." 

To his sister he says, "If I have read your dear let- 
ter over once, I have read it twenty times ! Every word 
you say goes to my heart, for we are ow^— are we not ? 
—with the same feelings, the same tastes, the same 
wishes, the same hopes. We really are, as the saying 

50 



Theophane Venard 

is, born for each other; and how comes it, then, that 
we are separated? Why, because God wished that 
we should be united eternally. As you said yourself 
one day, dearest Melanie, if we could live together 
here below, we should have cared too much for the 
world, and so He has divided us that our souls may 
be more and more purified, and sigh more and more 
after the moment when they shall take their flight to 
Heaven. A great servant of God once said 'that if 
some gall were not mingled in our earthly cup, we 
should be content with our exile, and think less of our 
own true country.' . . .'' 

To Eusebius he sends also a word of loving sym- 
pathy: "You cannot imagine the pleasure your letters 
have given me. I know well my poor little brother's 
tender, loving heart, but I rejoice that you have strug- 
gled against your sorrow, and not given way to it too 
much. You have thrown yourself into Mary's arms as 
a child into the arms of its mother. What a comfort 
it is to be able to do that in our moments of loneliness 
and desolation. Let Mary always be your refuge, my 
darling brother! The Blessed Virgin is much loved 
and honoured in the Mission-house here. When you 
have any little sorrow or trouble go simply to her, 
and ask her to offer it up for you to our dear Lord, 
and there leave it without any further care or pre- 
occupation. Then you will have nothing to fear either 
from men or devils. You will walk quietly in the path 
of life until you come hopefully to that home for which 
we all sigh and where we wish to be !" 

After what we have told our readers, it is not to 
be wondered at that Theophane not only won all hearts 
at the College, but made rapid progress in the paths 

51 



A Modern Martyr 

of perfection. His humility and simplicity concealed 
even from himself the beauty of his soul, but it could 
not be hidden from his superiors, or still less from his 
holy and wise director. Among the students, two of 
them, M. Dallet and M. Theurel, soon won a high 
place in his affections.^*' But fearful lest the tie should 
become too human, they mutually agreed to tell each 
other their faults, and so to make their very intimacy 
a means of advancing more rapidly in their heaven- 
bound path. Theophane fulfilled this compact consci- 
entiously, and it might have been thought almost se- 
verely, if his words had not been tempered by such 
extreme humility and sweetness as to disarm all 
inclination to wounded feeling. As far as he himself 
was concerned, he was his own severest accuser, and 
often his humility led him to exaggerate his short- 
comings to such an extent that he honestly believed 
himself utterly unfit for the apostolic life he had 
chosen and besought the prayers of all his friends 
for his conversion. He even had himself publicly 
recommended at Notre Dame des Victoires, and, writ- 
ing to a lady who had been preparing various little 
things for his future chapel, he says, "I am not sure of 
being allowed to go. I feel myself so utterly un- 
worthy! Not that my desire is altered; on the con- 
trary, I am more firmly resolved than ever. But the 
decision does not rest with me. May His holy will 
be done ! But after all, if they think me unworthy of 
the missionary life, you must not be troubled; for it 



♦Two of Theophane Venard^s fellow-students at Paris are still 
living, and serve as Directors in the Seminary. One of them, Fr. 
Delpech, was Superior until 1904, when, on account of ill-health, 
he was obliged to retire. Fr. Delpech recalls the gayety of 
Theophane while at the Mission House, a disposition so pro- 
nounced, that the future martyr was always the life of any 
little circle of students among whom he might be found. [Ed. 

52 



Theophane Venard 

is not for me you have been working, but for God; 
and if I do not make use of your gifts, you will find no 
difficulty in placing them elsewhere. And, indeed, if I 
thought you were working for me, I should be in 
great distress to know how to repay you for your 
kindness and zeal. But, thank God, I know that it is 
for Him you labour — to Him that you have devoted 
your life. He reserves for you a glorious crown, and 
the brightest flower in that crown will be your co- 
operation in this work of the Foreign Missions. Oh, 
what a joy would it be to me at that great day, when 
the prizes will be distributed by the hand of unerring 
Justice, if I might hear your name and your merit rec- 
ognized and rewarded, and be permitted to sing 
*Amen' to the solemn declaration which will admit 
you into the land of everlasting light and love — into 
the presence of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ, and of His holy Mother, and of all His holy 
angels and saints !'' 

Theophane was ordained Deacon at Christmas in 
1851, and wrote with delight of the Retreat which was 
to precede his ordination: — 

''On Sunday evening next we go into Retreat till the 
Saturday following, a holy and happy time of medita- 
tion and prayer, dwelling under the shadow of the 
altar, free from cares and distractions, absorbed in 
God. Fancy a delicious day in spring, with a pure 
sky, all nature bursting forth into leaf and blossom, 
or the deep calm of a tomb. . . . Ah, it is better than 
all this, for it is Heaven begun on earth, God com- 
municating Himself to man, man raising and uniting 
himself to God ! Ah, dear friend, what happiness He 
allows to His creatures !" 

53 



A Modern Martyr 

Then came the ordmation. He writes, "The ordina- 
tion was very large, and all the different communities 
of Paris contributed some members. I found, kneel- 
ing side by side with me, Lazarists, Dominicans, Fran- 
ciscans, Missionaries of the Holy Ghost, Irish, Ne- 
groes, &c. I knew none of them; but my heart went 
out to them with love and sympathy, for are we not 
children of the same Father, servants of the same 
Master, soldiers of the same King. The same object 
unites us; the same grace, in different degrees, was 
distributed to us; the same God gave Himself to us; 
and we invoked the same Queen, Mary, the Mother 
of the Saviour of the world. And then, as brothers, 
we gave one another the kiss of Peace. Oh, how 
happy I was !" 

Theophane had a special devotion to Church music, 
and especially to the old hymns and canticles of the 
Church. He wrote of them as follows : — 

"The hymns of the Church have always had a 
peculiar charm for me, and the more I hear them 
the more I long to hear, and the oftener I sing them 
the oftener I like to sing, for it is the voice of man in 
his exile, and the voice of the Church, praying, hoping, 
loving. Would that my countrymen would go back 
to the good old days of a purer and stronger faith, 
and not be ashamed to sing together the songs of their 
forefathers ! Now they only care for political or revo- 
lutionary ditties; a malediction on those who have 
swept away the faith and the hope of our people, who 
have robbed them of their peace and their tranquility ! 
France used to be so calm and happy. But, no; we 
will curse no one. Only, may God have mercy on us 
all!" 

54 



Theophane Venard 

But Theophane was not to see only the inside of the 
Seminary. He was sent on several occasions into 
the great world of Paris, and of this wonderful capi- 
tal he writes thus to his brother Henry': — 

"At Paris we are in the midst of two extremes of 
vice and virtue — vice of the lowest and most degrad- 
ing kind, and virtue the most heroic! In returning 
from Meudon, which is our little country house, about 
two leagues from Paris, I constantly pass through the 
Bois de Boulogne. It is a magnificent park, beauti- 
fully laid out with walks and drives, shaded by fine 
trees, and full of beautiful flowers. It is crowded 
with people on foot, in carriages, and on horseback. 
On leaving the park you pass through the Barriere 
de I'Etoile, and its triumphal arch, to an avenue which 
leads to the Place de la Concorde. This avenue is 
planted with trees, and on either side you see fine 
houses and beautiful villas. There is even a larger 
crowd here than in the Bois. The greater portion are 
pleasure-hunters. Do they find it? Well, perhaps 
those do who care for nothing but dissipation and jol- 
lity. But happiness? No; happiness is to be found 
only in home and in the domestic circle where God is 
loved and honoured, and every one loves, and helps, 
and cares for the other. The great cry now is, %e 
People.' The word written up every where is Fra- 
ternite 'Brotherhood.' In Paris they have well-nigh 
abolished the idea of family life. If I were not afraid 
of vexing some really good souls among them, I 
should say that Paris was nothing but a scene of con- 
fusion, a heterogeneous mass, where no one knew or 
cared for or respected the other. To realize the true 
meaning of Brotherhood it should be written not on 
the walls, but in the heart. There is a beautiful reci- 

55 



A Modern Martyr 

procity of feeling in the different relations of life, 
where all are united in the one great love in Him who 
gave His life for us, our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ ! If only every one could feel this, how per- 
fect would be the harmony on earth!" . . 

To Eusebius he writes, — ''You want me to describe 
Paris to you? Well, let us get out at the Orleans 
Railway Station, where the rail ends from Poitiers, 
and we shall find ourselves on the Quays which line 
the Seine, or rather which restrict it within very nar- 
row bounds, and into which all the drains are emptied, 
so that the water is any thing but sweet and clear 
like our Thouet. . . . The Tuileries garden would be 
the next object of interest to you, and I should praise 
it like the Luxembourg if it were not so peopled 
with Pagan deities ! Now, you are in the very heart 
of the Parisian world. You see beautiful mansions, 
brilliant equipages, elegant dandies, beautiful ladies, 
strutting like peacocks, but who, it seems to me, need 
to go to school again to learn modesty, humility, and 
even common sense. Every body lounges about, here 
or in the museums, or in the galleries of the Palais 
Royal, or in the Jardin des Plantes, or in the Bois 
de Boulogne, where the only object seems to be to see 
and be seen. Here is a whole tribe of nurses with 
their babies; and the monkeys are showing off their 
tricks, and the fountains are playing, and the jugglers 
are trying to make people laugh. . . . Well, have not 
these people really earned their dinners? Then comes 
the evening, when every one seems to think it neces- 
sary to go to some theatre or other, or to some ball, 
winding up with ice and coffee in the Boulevards, if 
not in their drawing-rooms ; and the gas lights up the 
city all night, and the world goes to bed when the sun 

56 




THE RIVER THOUET, ST. LOUP. 



Theophane Venard 

is rising. What a day for a reasonable being, let alone 
a Christian! This is Paris Hfe, the life of people in 
the world who fancy they have found happiness. 
Frankly, the whole thing disgusts and wearies me to 
death. I should never end if I were to tell you how 
ridiculous poor human nature appears in a thousand 
ways when left to itself, regardless of God, our good 
God, the only end and aim of life! One gives him- 
self the airs of a philosopher, another, of a poet; this 
one has a passion for music, that one for pictures. 
Every one talks politics, of which three-parts know 
nothing whatever. It is really humiliating to hear 
them! Oh, you cannot think, after I have been el- 
bowed half a day by all these worldly people, what a 
relief it is to me to come back to the Mission-House! 
How I love its cool, calm, quiet cloisters, the peace in 
its cells, the hours of study and meditation, the gaiety 
of its recreations, the charity and good-will of its in- 
mates, the charm of its chapel, the recollection of its 
history, the indescribable 'something' which seems to 
speak to us all day of the Apostolate and martyrdom ! 
. . . One day I went to Versailles ; I saw its enormous 
castle, and gardens, and park, but I could not feel 
enthusiastic about any of them. I kept thinking, 
'Well, this is all that man can produce of magnificence 
and splendour. How miserably unsatisfactory!' Ah, 
but all earthly things fade so before the thoughts of 
Heaven! . . . You ask me about the sights, the in- 
ventions, and the balloons. Well, as to the last, 
the ladies themselves are the most marvellous speci- 
mens! Even in heathen times, I verily believe such 
things would have been scouted. If man would give 
the glory of his inventions to God, they might bring 
a blessing; but we see nothing, hear of nothing, but 

57 



A Modern Martyr 

materialism and 'nature.' God help France and 
Europe! . , . If you ever come here you will be as 
struck as I am at the marvellous dissipation of this 
place, the never-ending turmoil, and bustle, and noise, 
and unrest. Oh, how I hate these never-ending 
streets, which tire my feet, my eyes, and my ears, 
where the world and its views reign supreme, and the 
one object of every living being seems to be pleasure, 
and pleasure only! In the midst of this impious city 
real saints are found, but most of those who have eyes 
do not see them or know them. They are hidden from 
the crowd and known only to God, and, thank Him, 
they are multiplying. Oh, Christianity is not dead, 
as the gentlemen of the Voltaire school are pleased 
to say!'' . . . After dwelling a little longer on Paris 
and its sights, he exclaims, ''But what is the use of 
my going on talking to you of all these vanities and 
follies. I went the other day to Notre Dame to see 
the splendid decorations which were used on New 
Year's Day, 1852, when Louis Napoleon made his tri- 
umphal entry into the cathedral. Well, what struck 
me most of all was the thought of how the great ones 
of earth were thus compelled to do homage to the 
majesty of God and to the glory of His Church. God 
alone is the sovereign beauty and His works perfect 
and glorious. If man be ever so great, it is only 
when he draws his inspirations from God, and when, 
in heartfelt humility, he gives to Him the glory. In 
Catholic countries all human potentates seek the sup- 
port of the Church, for she is the one power — first and 
indestructible — and without her aid no Catholic gov- 
ernment can exist, for the winds and the tempests 
would blow and sweep it away from the face of the 
earth." 

58 



Theophane Venard 

This, surely, is a noble view to take of the political 
situation of a great Catholic country. In 1848 Theo- 
phane had been painfully moved by the debate in the 
National Assembly; and when he came to Paris he 
asked and obtained permission to go to the Chambers 
and hear the principal speakers. He gave an account 
of his impressions to his father, and his sinister pre- 
visions were soon realized. The political horizon be- 
came more and more darkened, and the agitation was 
at its height, when the Coup d'Etat of the 2nd of De- 
cember gave the signal for a fresh revolution. On 
this event Theophane wrote as follows : — ''My dearest 
Father, — It is ten o'clock in the morning. Paris is 
declared in a state of siege. The National Assembly 
is dissolved.'' . . . Then he goes on to relate facts 
well known, and subjoins, "May our good God come 
to our aid, and direct all to His honour and glory! 
Let us pray for France and for all Europe. We have 
been expecting this shock from day to day and so we 
are not troubled. When and how will it all end? 
Human events succeed one another so rapidly and 
then pass away. God alone is immutable — let us go 
to Him ! After all, what does the future matter to us ? 
If the world were destroyed we should be safe in 
the bosom of His Church. The works of men alone 
remain — let them, then, be works of charity and jus- 
tice. All this seems to me to detach one more and 
more from things of earth and to fix one's thoughts 
and heart on Heaven." To another college friend he 
writes, 'To remedy the evil, France must be con- 
verted or else God will permit the working classes, 
the men who possess nothing, to be sooner or later 
the instruments of His vengeance. It seems to me our 
business is to try and become each one of us better, 
and then God will have pity upon our country. . . 

59 



A Modern Martyr 

As far as I am concerned, I assure you I am in per- 
fect safety. Our congregation is looked upon with a 
favourable eye at Paris, and every one know^s and is 
kind to us. In February, 1848, the eve of the de- 
thronement of Louis Philippe, our community was 
going across the Champs Elysees. An immense crowd 
was collected and some of them deliberated what they 
should do to them. But the majority exclaimed, Xet 
us leave them alone. Those are the men who are going 
to martyrize themselves in China !' and the observa- 
tion saved our poor missionaries. 

"The 4th of December we remained almost the 
whole day near the Bois de Boulogne. A detachment 
of cuirassiers had galloped toward Paris where the 
fighting had begun. The workmen were in the streets, 
quiet and orderly, but anxious. They were very civil 
to us. The next day three of our students were obliged 
to go through the streets where they had already 
erected barricades. The soldiers were bivouacking 
by their fires, a dense mob thronged round them, sul- 
len and silent, and breathing nothing but vengeance; 
but they allowed our missionaries to pass without mo- 
lestation, and even showed them marks of kindness 
and good will.''''^ 

After the Coup d'Etat^ the agitation ceased, and 
people gradually became calmer. Theophane wrote 
hopefully to his godmother: "The new government 
seems well disposed towards religion and willing to 
give the Church her due. If they go on so, God will 

*The students of the Paris Mission House are distinguishable by 
their cassocks and their beards. The cassock is shorter than 
the average, so as to facilitate rapid walking, long excursions 
being taken regularly into the suburbs. Those who are soon 
to depart grow beards during the last few months, as, accord- 
ing to the custom of Catholic missionaries, the beard is quite 
universally worn in far-away countries. 

60 



Theophane Venard 

send His blessing on this poor, distracted country and 
there may be some chance of seeing things reorgan- 
ized. Since our Lord Jesus Christ became man, His 
Divine manhood must take the lead in human affairs ; 
for a people calling itself Christian, and throwing off 
all allegiance to the Most High, becomes thoroughly 
ungovernable, for the simple reason that corruption 
is greater when it shows itself in what was originally 
good. Those who think they can see farther than 
their neighbours are hopeful as to the future of 
France, which makes me sanguine too. Although I 
may soon be far away, I shall always look anxiously 
for tidings of my country's welfare. May God bring 
about a brighter day! Amen.'' He ends with the 
beautiful words, — 

"O my Lord, Thy people know and love Thee by 
instinct; but they are deceived by their chiefs, who 
betray and mislead them. Oh, if only all the world 
were of one heart and one mind to serve and honour, 
and glorify Thee!" 



i\\ 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER VI. 
Last Days in Paris — The Departure. 

We are tempted to give one or two more extracts 
from Theophane Venard's letters to his family during 
the remainder of his stay at the Paris Foreign Mission 
House; for these letters are so full of counsel, espe- 
cially those to his youngest brother, that we have felt 
they might be of equal value to others in a like posi- 
tion. 

Eusebius had just entered "Le Petit Seminaire" at 
Montmorillon ; he was fifteen, and with a strong de- 
sire to become a priest. Under these circumstances he 
writes to Theophane for advice ; and the elder brother 
answers as follows: — 

''My dear Eusebius, — You are now of an age to 
choose your future career; an age when people begin 
to think, and when certain convictions form them- 
selves in our minds and influence our conduct. In 
your intercourse with men, you will encounter much 
prejudice, many strange ideas, and perversions of the 
truth; for their minds have wandered from the good 
old paths; and society in Europe has become thor- 
oughly corrupt. I do not mean to say that there were 
not plenty of bad people in old times, as there are now, 
for man is ever the same. But formerly there were 
certain social bases and landmarks which none but 

62 



Theophane Venard 

the very vicious overstepped. For religion was the 
foundation of society and God gives Hfe to nations as 
well as to individuals. Now all these safeguards are 
removed or ignored, but you will understand this bet- 
ter by and by. 

''Well, you are asking yourself what is to be your 
future ? Pray, simply, humbly, and fervently, to know 
God's will, and your path will be made clear. Then 
you will follow the inspiration which Divine mercy 
has put into your heart. Some people say, 'I will be 
a priest,' or 'a soldier,' or 'a landed proprietor,' and 
then they add, 'Oh, such and such studies are not 
necessary for this or that profession!' This is, the reas- 
oning of pure idlers. Then others go on about piety : 
'Piety ! it is only good for priests and nuns. God does 
not expect so much of us!' {How do you know?) 
These are the arguments of cold and calculating na- 
tures. Now what I want you to say to yourself is, 'I 
am, first of all, a man, a reasonable being, created to 
know, love, serve, and glorify God. I come from 
God. I go to God. I belong to God. My body is His. 
My mind is His. My heart is His. I shall be judged 
according to my works and to the way I have corre- 
sponded to the grace given me. Well then, God help- 
ing me, I will use this body, this mind, and this heart, 
as much as I possibly can for His greater glory, 
honour, and love.' 

"My dear Eusebius, life well employed consists in 
this: A faithful correspondence to grace ^ cmd a good 
use of the talents given. There is no other religion 
than this, and the rule of life is the same for all. 

"But," you ask, 'what does God ask of meT Hu- 
mility, prayer, obedience to His Divine commands, and 
to the voice of our mother the Church, and an entire 

63 



A Modern Martyr 

abandonment of ourselves to His Divine providence. 
You answer, — 

" 'But many men do not reason like this/ 
"To God alone it pertaineth to judge of others. We 
have only to look to ourselves. For the moment, what 
you have to do is — study with all your might to make 
use of the advantages which God has put in your way, 
and which you owe, under Him, to the generous love 
of our dear father. Work not to gain honor and 
distinction but to please God. He who does not work 
for God works for the devil and for his friend, the 
world. God is represented on earth by His Holy 
Catholic, Roman, and Apostolic Church. She is the 
City of God, whose citizens we are, no matter in what 
corner of the earth our lot may be cast. Our Lord 
Jesus Christ is the chief of this city ; but we shall not 
see this clearly until the consummation of all things. 
The Pope and the Bishops are His representatives on 
earth, and have a permanent and infallible authority 
to which we must submit, and in which we must be- 
lieve, as in Jesus Christ Himself. He who is not with 
them is against them. The Catholic Church on earth 
is termed Militant — that is, she is perpetually at war 
with Satan and the world. Ever since her birth she 
has been attacked on every side. Your business must 
be to fight for her, and under her banner, taking the 
saints as your protectors and guides. . . . Do not let 
yourself give way to vexation at little troubles and 
cares. Banish the idea that such and such things bore 
you. We have to learn very early to live amidst con- 
stant contradictions and mortifications of our natural 
tastes and inclinations. But it is this which trains us 
and makes us good soldiers of the Cross, and the soul 
is thereby raised and purified. It is a trite saying 

64 



Theophane Venard 

enough that there is no heaven without a cloud and 
that you mustn't expect any thing to be perfect in this 
life, but what I want you to do is to bear everything 
cheerfully and gaily, to rejoice even in vexations; and 
if you can't be bright naturally, strive and be bright in 
and for God. ... Be agreeable in conversation, good- 
humoured and merry, full of cheerfulness and fun, and 
not brooding on disagreeables. And now you will say 
I have preached enough, and so I will only add, hav- 
ing laid down certain great principles for your life, 
forward ! Don't be afraid of being laughed at. You 
will crown all by keeping up the tender love of a little 
child for the Blessed Virgin and a confiding trust in 
your Guardian Angel." 

A little later he writes to him on his vocation. "You 
tell me that your wishes, your tastes, a secret inspira- 
tion of grace, draw you strongly towards the priest- 
hood. May God's Holy Name be praised! but if our 
Lord calls you you must answer. One day little Samuel 
heard a voice crying out, 'Samuel ! Samuel !' 'Here I 
am. Lord,' he replied. Ecce ego, Dornine, quia vocasti 
me, Eusebius ! you think our Lord has called you. 
Well, then, you must answer like Samuel, '' 'Here I 
am. Lord,' what wilt Thou have me to do? With the 
help of Thy grace I will do all that Thou dost appoint, 
and that grace I feel will not be wanting.' 

'Tt is, then, on the ist of October — that month 
dedicated to the angels — that you are to leave your 
country and your home, and your beautiful valley, to 
go into a strange place. Courage! When one leaves 
any thing for God He rewards us a hundredfold ; He 
has said so Himself. But (you say) you are 'alone,^ 
'quite alone.' Oh, no, you are the child of our Divine 
Lord and His Blessed Mother, the child of His Love, 

65 



A Modern Martyr 

the sheep of His pasture; have confidence in God. 
Nevertheless, if there are times when your heart sinks 
within you, my dearest brother, go to the chapel, offer 
to our dear Lord your tears and your sacrifice, and 
then, alone before God, consecrate yourself anew 
without reserve to His service. Offer Him, to be- 
gin with, the trials of your college life; throw your- 
self like a boy into the arms of Mary, and believe me 
when I say you will never be forsaken. 

''You will have to choose a confessor, and for this 
you must pray earnestly to our Lord and His Mother 
to enlighten and guide you. Then, when you have 
chosen one, you must open your whole heart to him, 
not only in the confessional, but when you see him 
alone elsewhere ; make him your friend and counsellor 
in all your little difficulties and sorrows, and tell him 
of your temptations and faults with thorough sim- 
plicity and openness. Then be guided by his advice, 
and follow it to the letter. This is the kind of spiritual 
direction necessary to one who seeks to advance 
towards perfection. Confide in him entirely, and be 
sure that he will keep all your little secrets as if it 
were in the confessional. You are no longer a child, 
dear Eusebius, and you must begin to walk as one 
worthy of the mercies of God, and of His great de- 
signs in your behalf. Make a little book in which you 
can write down your impressions, and your religious 
feelings now and then, putting down the date ; you can 
dedicate it to our Lady. Some day later you will read 
them over again with pleasure, and they will serve 
to brace you up when days of heaviness and weariness 
overcome your courage." 

(Theophane himself had this practice, but, unfor- 
tunately, when he was ill, he insisted on burning all 
that he had written.) 

66 



Theophane Venard 

''I should like to think that you deprived yourself 
now and then of some indulgence to give to the poor. 
You ought not to run into great expenses or attempt to 
imitate the luxurious habits of many of those around 
you. Remember your own simple home, and still more 
remember how many thousands there are who suffer 
the want of the very necessaries of life. Above all, 
never forget that God is in every thing ; in little things 
as in great. He ought to be the one motive of your 
thoughts, words, and actions. Go often to confession, 
have great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and as- 
sociate yourself as soon as you can with some congre- 
gation of our Lady. Oh, how happy I was when I 
first became a child of Mary! Go, then, dearest 
brother, and may the Angel of God guide your steps ! 
A great future is before you ; a grand vocation ! Think 
of it well, anchored on the infinite mercy of God. 
. . . Perhaps you will hear a voice saying, 'Come with 
me,' and that we shall find ourselves soldiers of the 
same regiment, travellers on the same road, bound for 
the same haven. May His Holy Will be done, and not 
ours. Strive to fulfil with diligence and joy the work 
of each day, be gay, very gay. The life of a true Chris- 
tian should be a perpetual jubilee, a prelude to the fes- 
tivals of eternity " 

These letters abundantly show the anxious care and 
thought which Theophane bestowed on his brothers, 
who were the continual subject of his prayers, and 
when he became a priest, of his Masses likewise. On 
one occasion he wrote and told Eusebius that he was 
going to say Mass for him on the ist of August, the 
Feast of St. Eusebius, when, from some unknown rea- 
son, he changed it to the second of the month. Now 

67 



A Modern Martyr 

it happened on that very day that a thunderbolt struck 
the College of Montmorillon, and an electric spark 
fell on Eusebius, who was left for dead, and with great 
difficulty recovered. Eusebius always attributed this 
escape to the intervention of his brother, who at that 
very moment was offering up for him the Holy Sac- 
rifice. 

To his elder brother, Henry, Theophane writes in a 
different strain; but his letters are full of suggestive 
thoughts and beautifully expressed. On one occasion 
he writes, — 

'T am not astonished that my loving old brother 
found poetry in my letters but I think that his own 
heart supplied it. Talking of poetry, do you not think 
that men have profaned it more than ever in these 
latter days? Poetry presupposes a soul lifted above 
the things of sense ; it means the outpouring of a heart 
full of love for God and for our neighbour, keenly 
alive to the beauties of nature and of grace. The mys- 
teries of Christianity and of the Blessed Eucharist are 
eminently fitted for a poet. So also are pure love, de- 
votion, heroism, self-sacrifice, and the rest. But when 
I see men calling themselves poets, and abusing their 
gift by impure allusions, and sophistries, and vague 
aspirations after dreams which have no existence ex- 
cept in their morbid imaginations, I confess I have no 
patience with them. Poetry is not meant to be merely 
the exaltation and feeding of human passion and sen- 
sual indulgence. Yet three parts of the world call this 
poetry. Oh, let us draw our inspirations from purer 
sources ! The literature of the. day seems to me to run 
forever either in impure or rationalistic channels, so 
much so, that I dread lest we should be all submerged 
in the foul tide! I try and think of the exile going 

68 



Theophane Venard 

back to his country. He sees and thinks of nothing 
else. We are all exiles here below. Let us hasten on 
to our home in Heaven. ... I am very much struck 
with the young men I have met here outside of the 
Seminary. They are such contradictory creatures. A 
great deal of pride with considerable generosity; a 
strong love of independence with a certain submis- 
sion ; much impurity with a vestige of better thoughts 
learned at a mother's knee; some courage and au- 
dacity, and yet more weakness and foolish yielding; 
an ardour for work by fits and starts, but usually in- 
conceivable idleness ; a desultory way of living and 
acting without aim or purpose ; in fact, the old strife 
between the spirit of evil and the spirit of good. Still 
among these young men there are exceptions. I know 
some who are living in the world, in the very heart of 
great riches and luxury, and yet are humble, pious, 
devout, charitable, and reverent, — seeking out the 
poor in their garrets, religious ^as a woman,' as the 
saying is. Their manners are simple and natural for 
they are thoroughly in earnest. They are bright, 
amiable, and courteous, with faces which prepossess 
one at first sight. Their lives are spent in doing good. 
I don't mean to say that they don't commit faults 
sometimes, for human nature is weak; but their very 
failings increase their humility and make them lean 
more completely on the Divine mercy. God be 
praised ! Such men are not very rare though they 
do not show themselves much in the streets. There 
is another species, whom one sees all day long loung- 
ing at cafes or in ball-rooms, never by themselves. 
They are restless, walking in a wild sort of way, judg- 
ing and criticizing every body and every thing. They 
neither respect nor esteem women. They want to 

69 



A Modern Martyr 

know everything, hear everything, and see everything. 
They talk for the sake of talking, and their least sin is 
that of doing nothing. . . . Such young men swarm 
in the streets of Paris and their secret lives are more 
pitiable than their public ones. All young men, more 
or less, may rank in one or other of these two classes. 
It does not cost more to side with the right but then 
one must have a heart and reason calmly as to the ob- 
ject of life, — in a word, serve and love God. 

^^Good-bye, my dearest brother. Write to me soon 
again. Your letters do me so much good." 

But it was to Melanie that Theophane spoke all his 
most intimate thoughts and aspirations. Poor Melanie, 
who had never recovered from her brother's departure, 
and at last had become seriously ill. After a time she 
rallied, and then her brother (whom she called her 
"other half') wrote to her as follows: — 

"My dearest Sister, — I am glad you have been ill, 
and I am very thankful you have recovered. To ex- 
plain my first proposition, which will appear very ex- 
traordinary, I feel that you have had the opportunity 
to sufifer something for the love of our Lord. Oh, I 
am quite sure you felt the advantages of your position ! 
Sufferings are the money with which one buys 
Heaven; therefore, your fortune is already begun. 
As for me, I have not a penny. I am as poor as a 
church mouse. But I hope soon to go to California. 
Now do you understand my meaning? At any rate, 
you know how I love you." 

Melanie had long wished to devote herself to God 
in a religious life, but her brother's plans had 
thwarted the accomplishment of her own wishes for a 

70 



Theophane Venard 

time. She had made the sacrifice generously. Never- 
theless, she felt herself strongly urged in the same 
direction. 

''Be comforted, my dearest sister," writes Theo- 
phane, 'Sve are made to live together, so let us do so 
in Heaven. Be patient until God opens the way for 
you to give yourself entirely to Him. Perfection does 
not lie in one state of life more than the other, but con- 
sists in an entire correspondence with grace in the po- 
sition in which God has placed us. Above all, do not 
be discouraged, or give way to sadness and despond- 
ency. Your holy and hidden life in the bosom of your 
family is quite as meritorious in the sight of God, and 
perhaps safer than a more heroic one." 

But although Melanie was compelled to wait for a 
few years to attain the great object of her wishes, she 
found she could realize a portion of them by conse- 
crating her virginity to our Lord, even while still liv- 
ing in the world ; and on this she writes to consult her 
brother. He replies, — 

"Your letter has filled me with great joy, for I see 
how anxious you are to advance in the paths of perfec- 
tion. I have joined my poor prayers with yours and 
laid them at the feet of our Lady of Victories. Do 
nothing hastily. You say you wish to obey your direc- 
tor, and you are quite right, for obedience alone is a 
sure guide. You are very good to consult me, my dear 
little sister; I, who am so far below you in every- 
thing, — I thank you with all my heart for this 
fresh proof of your love. Well ! what answer am I to 
give you? You would not like me to say 'No,' and I 
should like it still less. How can I advise you to re- 
main in a world which I detest as you do, and which I 
have left myself? I know well that for a long time 

71 



A Modern Martyr 

you have entirely detached yourself from its pleasures 
and its frivolities ; but the last act, the act of entire 
renunciation, you have not yet signed and that is all 
that is left for you to do. What is there, then, to stop 
you? Consult your courage, consult the voice of 
grace, consult those with whom you live, and if no 
obstacle present itself, may your holy desires be ful- 
filled. May God's will be done; celebrate your nup- 
tials, give Him your heart and your life, clothe your- 
self with the nuptial robe, place His ring on your fin- 
ger, take a new name, enter into a new family. I wish 
3^ou joy, sister Mary, virgin spouse of Jesus Christ! 
May the day come when I shall see my much-loved 
sister in the choir of virgins, of which Mary Immacu- 
late is the Queen, and when you shall count your 
brother in the ranks of apostles, and perhaps martyrs 
— who knows? How joyfully we shall each then sing, 
'Regina Apostoloriim, Regina Virginum, ora pro 
nobis,''\' . . . 

''You wish me to guess the new name you have 
taken. I have puzzled my brains in vain and can find 
only my own. Perhaps, in the eccentricity of your 
love, you have chosen that one? And now you say 
you want to be a missionary-nun — a tertiary, I sup- 
pose ? I have a little bit of a doubt as to the reality of 
this vocation ; it seems to me to taste a little too much 
of fraternal afifection.'' 

But the great day came for Melanie, and on the 15th 
of July, 1852, her brother wrote again, — 

"I received your cake on the Feast of St. John, you 
naughty little spoiling sister, and I thought it very 
good, though a little salt, which is the fault of your 
confections. Well, be the salt of the earth ! So many 

tQueen of Apostles, Queen of Virgins, pray for us. 

72 



Theophane Venard 

souls get inspid and lukewarm. Ah, you did not ex- 
pect me to preach morality to you on a cake ! ... It 
is just like you and your love to remember all the little 
details of that last day, and how I carried my surplice 
on my arm. Ah, I am sometimes afraid you care for 
me too much! Perhaps it is to punish us both that 
God told me to leave you. I congratulate you with all 
my heart on the step you have taken, and that you 
should thus have separated yourself from the world, 
though still living in it. God has inspired you, and 
given you a great grace. I know you will receive it 
with gratitude and humility; but do not forget that 
your first duty is still to your family and for your 
family. . . . God bless you, sister Mary-Theophane, 
All joy be with you in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. — 
Your devoted brother, ^T. V." 

The hour drew near when Theophane was to be- 
come a priest, and his zeal and fervour were redoubled. 
The atmosphere around him strengthened all these 
pious desires, and every thing tended to help him on- 
ward in the path of perfection. In one of the corners 
of the garden at the Paris Foreign Missionary College 
is a little oratory dedicated to Our Lady, and filled 
wath candles and flowers. Every Saturday evening, 
and on all the vigils of her feasts, it is lighted, and the 
students go there to recite Litanies and sing hymns 
in her honour, after which follow the usual prayers at 
nine o'clock. But on leaving the chapel, and before 
retiring to his cell, each of the future missionaries goes 
to pay a little visit to the Hall of Martyrs, a large room 
in which are ranged along the wall not only relics of 
the confessors, but the instruments of their torture 
and pictures of their martyrdom. Every one stays a 

73 



A Modern Martyr 

few minutes here to pray in silence, and then to kiss 
the crucifix stained with the blood of Bishop Borie. 
Theophane used to spend every spare moment in this 
room, and when the news came of the martyrdom of 
Father Schoeffler at Tonquin, he wrote to his sister, 
''Oh, if I might some day give my life like him for the 
Faith ! I am not afraid of saying so to you, because I 
know your generosity and that you would not even 
wish to rob me of my crown. This Tonquin Mission 
is now the most enviable, for it is almost certain mar- 
tyrdom. . . . Whatever happens, I know I may reckon 
on your pra)^ers." 

Every day he was getting more detached. Writing 
to the Bishop of Poitiers, he says, — 

''Formerly, my Lord, I rejoiced in the thought of 
receiving at your hands the last great grace which 
God has deigned to bestow on me. But Divine Provi- 
dence has ordered it otherwise and disposed of my 
future. In the midst of my regrets I cannot help look- 
ing forward with joy. Yes, I own that every day I 
get more detached from France, even when France 
means to me Poitiers, and my tastes have become 
decidedly Chinese. I do not know what secret im- 
pulse makes me sympathize so warmly with people of 
another clime, be they Indians or Chinese. Some of 
my friends here declare I am growing like them, that 
I have a Chinese head, and Chinese eyes, and Chinese 
ways, in fact, that I am getting Chinese altogether. 
Do not think, however, that I have set my heart upon 
China. I have no other choice than the will of my 
superiors ; that is, if they think me worthy of any 
work at all, which I sometimes fear they will not. I 
shall always find myself too happy in the place where 

74 



Theophane Venard 

the Great Master will allow me to work for the wel- 
fare of my brethren and the Glory of His holy name." 
Nevertheless, his superiors had no difficulty in rec- 
ognizing the eminent merits of the young aspirant 
after foreign missions, in spite of the humility which 
induced him to throw a veil over all his actions; and 
so they hastened the time of his consecration (he was 
only twenty-two), and desired him to prepare himself 
for the Trinity ordination. He received the news with 
a mixture of joy and fear, and writing to his Bishop 
exclaims, — 

''My Lord, — Fruit which grows ripe before the 
proper time has no flavour; and here am I, a young 
and green fruit, which yet must be ripe in a month. 
In spite of this hot May sun, is it not too soon ? . . . I 
never dreamt of being called to the priesthood before 
Christmas, but God has disposed things otherwise. . . 
'Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetiUcat juven- 
tutem meam/^ Very soon, perhaps, another message 
will be brought to me, at the very thought of which 
my heart sings for joy. Tack your things, and start.' 
Yet when I look at myself, when I see the childish 
hands so soon to receive the holy oils; the feet, fresh 
from the playgrounds, which are to carry so far the 
gospel of truth and peace; my whole being, in fact, 
only just beginning to understand what life is, and 
yet so soon to teach men how to live, I can scarcely 
help laughing and yet crying. So mingled are my 
feelings and thoughts at this moment, I can only hope 
in God, and beseech Him to give me strength, meek- 
ness, humility, prudence, knowledge, and charity. I 
trust in your lordship's kindness that you will give me 

tl will go unto the Altar of God, to God who rejoiceth my youth, 

75 



A Modern Martyr 

a place in your prayers, which will obtain for me the 
graces of which I stand so much in need." 

A severe illness prostrated him for a time, although 
his courage and cheerfulness never deserted him; and 
in spite of his sufferings, which were very great, his 
gaiety and patience astonished his companions, who 
vied with one another as to who should wait upon him 
and do little things for him. He wrote gaily after 
his recovery, ''I have a new body altogether, which, as 
I am going into a new country, will be very useful, and 
I hope we shall agree perfectly. It is a pity that I 
can't get a new spirit and a new heart, and then I 
should be altogether a new man. Pray that I may be 
thus transformed on the day of my ordination." He 
recovered sufficiently to be ordained on the 5th of June 
and said his first mass the next day, — Trinity Sunday. 
He writes home on this occasion to his father, "My 
dearest Father, — Send me your blessing. I said my 
first mass to-day. Oh, what a glorious day for me! 
True, I cannot yet meditate very well — my head is still 
weak, and I can scarcely realize the awful mysteries 
of which I have become, as it were, a participator. 
But I feel a great peace, and am very happy. You will 
share in my joy, which is a family one. Would that 
you could have been with me on this day! But God 
ordered it otherwise. May we be strengthened in 
faith and hope ; at least we shall be united in prayer." 

The new missionary was at length a priest. His 
departure could not be long delayed, and the an- 
nouncement was made to him three days only after 
his ordination. He gave notice to his relatives that 
his destination was not yet fixed, nor the actual day 
of farewell, but that they must be prepared for a 

76 



Theophane Venard 

speedy summons. He told them that he had been 
promised a month's notice, and added, ''Dearest 
friends, — Courage and faith ! God watches over us, 
and the Blessed Virgin is our protector." 

The missions of his two friends, Fr. Dallet and Fr. 
Theurel, were already fixed; the latter was bound for 
Tonquin, the former for India. Fr. Dallet embarked 
in the middle of the month of August, and this was the 
first break in the chain which united these faithful 
friends. 

But the summons for Theophane Venard was not 
long delayed, and a letter dated the 13th of September 
announced his speedy departure to his family. 

''My dearest Father, Melanie, Henry, and 
EusEBius, — Once more let us say together, God's holy 
name be praised ! About a month ago five of my fel- 
low-students received a notice to hold themselves in 
readiness for departure. I was left behind until my 
health would be fully regained. I could not help 
grieving very much, but let that pass, for time presses. 
One of the five, who had been compelled to return 
home for family affairs, did not come back on the 
day fixed. I have been, consequently, appointed to 
replace him. I am, therefore, going to leave you at 
once, my dearest ones, and to wish you good-bye until 
our reunion in Heaven. I shall not remain even this 
week in Paris; Friday will probably be my last day 
on the soil of France, as we are to embark at Ant- 
w^erp.'' 

The 19th of September was to be the day of de- 
parture, and in the morning Theophane sent a fare- 
well line to each member of his family. 



t i 



A Modern Martyr 

''My dearest and much-loved Father, — To-day I 
leave France. I must send you my last farewell; we 
start at seven o'clock. On Monday we are to embark 
from Antwerp; Tuesday morning we set sail. Dear- 
est father, good-bye. My departure I know will be 
a sorrow to you; to me also the separation is very 
hard to bear. But courage! Life on earth passes so 
quickly and death will reunite us so soon; for death 
to a Christian is life, a life of eternal happiness in the 
bosom of our God, in company with His angels and 
His saints. Ail revoir, then, dearest father; the way 
is short, and the end is blessed. Good-bye, I embrace 
you with all my heart." 

''My much-loved Sister, my own little Me- 
LANiE, — Good-bye. I feel it very much that I am 
not able to write you a good long letter. It is positive 
suffering to me, for we have so many, many things to 
say to each other, but I have scarcely a moment. I 
shall never forget you or our happy childhood to- 
gether, or our family gatherings and home joys, but 
by and by we shall all be reunited. I go with a heavy 
heart and eyes full of tears, but we must pray together,, 
the one for the other, and bear the pain of parting 
bravely. God bless you. My paper must convey my 
last kiss to my darling sister." 

"Good-bye, my dear, good Henry. Your last letter 
gave me so much pleasure. Oh, no, my heart is not 
made of stone; on the contrary, just now it melts like 
wax. But we shall meet again. I am going to talk 
of our Father who is in Heaven, and make Him 
known to our brothers who as yet know Him not, and 
perhaps I shall be first at the tryst. Pray for me. 
Prayer alone can soften bitterness and assuage sor- 
row. And I, do you think I can ever forget you? 

78 




Q 



o s 

W .2 



Theophane Venard 

Good-bye. Let us have courage in this Hfe and fight 
our battles bravely. I love you with all my heart/' 

''Good-bye, my poor little Eusebius. We are about 
to be separated but we shall be more and more closely 
united in thought and prayer. We must all walk 
straight heavenwards, no matter how rough the way. 
Happy those who get there first! My colleagues and 
I start under the best auspices, for only yesterday we 
heard of a fresh martyrdom in Tonquin and it is for 
that mission we are bound. Good-bye! I kiss you 
on both cheeks. Once more, good-bye !" 

Then came the usual ceremony of departure. The 
departing missionaries entered the chapel after even- 
ing prayers and knelt on the altar steps. Behind them 
knelt the directors of the Seminary with the student 
body, as well as the friends and relatives who came to 
see the young apostles for the last time. Theophane's 
relatives were not of the number. After the prayers 
a short meditation was given, and the assistants sat 
down, the five missionaries alone remaining on the 
altar-step standing, while one of the directors, lately 
returned from a foreign mission, made a short but 
touching address. Then the five young apostles ap- 
proached the altar, and when close to the tabernacle 
turned to their brethren, who, leaving their places, 
went one by one, to kiss the feet of those who were so 
soon to be our Lord's heralds, while the choir intoned 
the anthem, ''Quam speciosi pedes evangeli^antium 
pacem, evangelizantium honaT'^'^ 

♦The ceremony of departure now takes place several times each 
year. During the Summer the date is generally fixed in Aug- 
ust, and the ceremonies are divided between the Blessed Vir- 
gin's shrine in the garden and the chapel. As the chapel is 
not large and the main body is reserved for choir purposes, 
only a limited number of the laity may attend. [Ed. 

+ How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of 
peace, — of them that bring glad tidings. 

79 



A Modern Martyr 

A little episode followed, which was well described 
at the time by an eminent Catholic writer. 

''From the midst of the crowd of visitors an old 
man came forward, walking with some difficulty, and 
assisted by one of the Directors of the College. An 
inexpressible emotion was felt throughout the chapel, 
and the voices of the choir faltered as they watched 
him slowly advancing up the aisle towards the altar. 
He kissed the feet of the four first missionaries, but 
when he came to the fifth, the young man, as if in- 
stinctively, bent forw^ard and tried to prevent him. 
But the poor old man knelt, or rather prostrated him- 
self before him, and not only pressed his lips to his 
feet, but his face and his forehead, so that his soft 
white hair covered them as with a veil; and then a 
sigh burst from his heart, w^hich was more like a sob, 
a sigh which was heard all over the building, and at 
which every body was moved to tears ; w^hile the poor 
son himself (for it was his father) became whiter 
than a sheet. Yet this was the second son which this 
new Abraham had sacrificed to God, and it was the 
last! . . . They assisted the old man to rise, and he 
with difficulty returned to his place amidst the sym- 
pathy of the whole audience, while the choir, which in 
the excitement had paused for a moment, intoned the 
''Laudate pueri Doinimim/' 

After this touching ceremony, the missionaries 
themselves gave the kiss of peace to their brethren 
and friends, and then followed the ''Hymn of Depart- 
lire;' by M. Dallet. 



80 



Theophane Venard 



CHAPTER VII. ; 

The Voyage — Antwerp to Hong-Kong. 

Our travellers left Paris and the Seminary with 
full hearts. To Theophane, especially, the parting was 
very bitter, for he had become attached to the Semi- 
nary, and to every thing in it, in a way which only 
clinging, loving natures like his can understand. The 
young missionaries managed to get together in the rail- 
way carriage, so that they might console one another ; 
and after a time they became calm, — even joyous, so 
that Theophane w^rote that they seemed ''more like 
people going to a fete.'' Arrived at Antwerp they 
lost no time in going on board their ship, the 'Thylo- 
taxe" (lover of order), an American clipper of 600 
tons, and a good, fast sailer. As a day or two elapsed 
before the ship was ready for sea, they spent this time 
seeing the quaint old Belgian town, and admiring the 
simplicity and devotion of its inhabitants. The em- 
barkation took place on the 23rd of September. Theo- 
phane wrote home, — 

''We bade farewell to Antwerp with a salute of 
nine guns, which was answered from the citadel. I 
am rather inclined to dreaming, and were it not for 
the help of God my heart would fail me altogether. 
You were more than half my life, and I feel the sepa- 
ration terribly; especially from the fact that it may 
be so long before I shall have any letter or tidings of 
you all. At any rate you are anchored in my remem- 

81 



A Modern Martyr 

brance (you see I am already getting nautical in my 
expressions), and I feel as if your presence would be 
ever with me, to cheer and strengthen me. We have 
already passed two nights on board ; how beautiful the 
nights are at sea ! The moon throws such a soft light 
on the waves while we walk up and down the deck, 
singing some national air, and smoking our cigars. 
For now we are ordered to smoke; and a kind old 
gentleman at Antwerp gave me for the passage a thou- 
sand cigars, of a mild kind, which I can manage bet- 
ter than the stronger ones. I sleep like a little bird in 
its nest and as yet I have not been sick. The vessel 
is most comfortable; the wind favorable; the crew a 
picked one; the discipline admirable, and the captain 
like a father. In spite of the dispensation, we abstained 
on Friday, as is the universal Belgium custom. The 
captain never omits grace before and after meals, and 
the officers are faithful likewise. I am struck with 
the hard life of these sailors but I see that it has a 
certain charm. I like to hear their monotonous sing- 
ing during work, and to watch them climb the ropes ; 
but the wonderful expanse of water, and the thoughts 
which it suggests, occupy me almost exclusively. I 
wished good-bye to every village and steeple as we 
sailed past. Now we see nothing but ocean and sky. 
Good-bye, then, for many months." He was able, 
however, to send a few pencil lines the next day, as 
follows : — 

''Sunday, September 26, by a Fishing-Smack ^ 

seven leagues from Calais. 

My dear ones, — One more word to say that I am 

well though rather sea-sick. We are all bright and 

cheery on board. Pray for us. Dearest Father, Me- 

82 



Theophane Venard 

lanie, Henry, Eusebius, once more good-bye! A last 
farewell to France, and to you all." 

According to all human probability these were, in- 
deed, the last words he was to send them from Europe ; 
but a further consolation was granted to his family 
through a violent gale, which obliged the ship to take 
refuge in Plymouth harbour, where it remained three 
days. Theophane gave his brother an amusing ac- 
count of the storm and its consequences; and adds, 
''This evening I have been watching a beautiful sun- 
set on the English coast while the moon rose on the 
French side of the Channel. I could not help think- 
ing about England, this country where the Sun of 
Truth has so long been darkened, — and praying for 
her with all my heart. England could do so much for 
the good cause, if she would only make it her own! 
If she only saw the truth ! She reigns over the seas ; 
but she sows error wherever her flag floats. Let us 
pray that this state of things may not continue. It is, 
I fancy, a rare sight for English people to see a priest 
in his cassock ; for when we went into the town, men, 
women, and children looked at us in amazement. 
Some of the little ones were fairly frightened and ran 
away; one of the men was curious enough to come 
and touch one of our cassocks and examine the but- 
tons. Then they burst out laughing, and that so 
naively, that we laughed too. It seems to me that 
they are very like the Chinese in character — curious to 
the verge of incivility and with little sense in their 
mockery.'' 

To his sister he wrote, — 

"Plymouth. 
''Dearest Sister, — Peace and love and joy in our 
Lord Jesus Christ Providence has willed that we 

83 



A Modern Martyr 

should be detained here, to repair the damage done to 
our ship in the gale — at least, that is the reason the 
world gives ; / believe it is to enable me once more to 
say good-bye at my ease to my friends. What do you 
think, dear little sister? Do you recollect how in old 
times, when the last of the holidays came, you and 
I used to take the longest road to the station, so as to 
prolong the time as much as possible and talk a little 
more? We never could agree as to which was to 
have the last word; we always had so much to say to 
each other. And now I am leaving you indeed, and 
probably for ever! Ought we not, then, to have a 
good long talk ? Ah, now comes the sorrow ! I must 
have all the say to myself. There is no dear little 
Melanie to answer me; no gentle eyes to look at me; 
no soft hand to hold in mine, and to keep it back, and 
try to make me stay a few minutes longer! And our 
good father and brother, where are they? Ah, you 
are all together ; and I ? I am alone ! Alone with God 
— alone for evermore! But I know how you have 
followed me in thought; and I like to think of this 
letter's arrival at our home, and the welcome it will 
get ! Am I not a real baby ? But O my God, it is not 
wrong, is it? to love one's home, and one's father, 
and one's brothers, and one's sister ? — to suffer terribly 
at being parted from them? — to feel one's loneliness? 
— to try and console one another? — to mingle our 
prayers and our tears, and also our hopes? For we 
have left all for Thee. We wish to work but for 
Thee ; and we trust to be reunited one day in Thee for 
ever and for ever! You see, my darling sister, as 
usual, I cannot help opening my whole heart to you, 
who understand me so well. But let us look the 
thing bravely in the face. All is over, is it not so? An 

84 



Theophane Venard 

enormous distance is about to separate us. Never 
again shall we meet on this earth ! But after all, why 
do we feel it so dreadfully? A little sooner or a little 
later we shall be together again in Heaven. How 
short will our separation appear to us in eternity! 
.Mother, friends, the Saints, are all gone home before 
us. Au revoirl they said. So it is our business to 
follow them and to go to them. People who are tak- 
ing a journey often go by different roads; the only 
question is, which shall arrive first at the place of 
destination. Well, I am going by this road; you by 
that. Let the one who reaches home first encourage 
the other. 

''Melanie, my sister, I leave you a precious charge 
— that of our dear old father! You must help him 
to pass from this world to a better. You must be his 
angel of consolation and soothe his last days on earth. 
Watch over our brothers, too ; try and make yourself 
one with them as you have been with me; and link 
yourself with them in the bonds of the tenderest affec- 
tion. Three are stronger than one; help one another 
onwards and upwards in the rugged path of life. 
Above all, let nothing separate your interests or your 
affections. True love cannot be snapped asunder; it 
spreads and widens, but never diminishes. Love never 
dies ; for it is stronger than death. God Himself has 
said so. The strength and increase of love is in 
prayer. We are little and weak and miserable but He 
who sustains us is strong and mighty. His arms are 
ever stretched out towards us ; let us lift ours to meet 
Him. 

"Life has many bitter, sad, and weary hours ; often 
it can scarcely be called existence. The little rivulets, 
as well as the great rivers, all empty themselves into 

85 



A Modern Martyr 

one source — the sea. God is an ocean of love and 
mercy; in Him alone is the fulness of joy. Patience 
and courage, then! A little while and we shall be 
with Him. He has promised it and He never belies 
His word. When the little river is dried up, the 
heavens give rain, and the river gaily continues its 
course. When our life is arid and we are ill at ease, 
let us ask for the dew and the refreshing rain and the 
food from God. Our Father who is in Heaven knows 
our wants, and feels for our weariness ; and He sends 
His ministers to supply our need. 'Ask and ye shall 
receive.' Well, then, it is an understood thing, that 
each of us is to help and strengthen the other, and to 
make a start upwards. Short is the way and short 
the time. Courage, dearest sister ! my thoughts press 
and tumble one upon the other; but you understand 
even half a word ; and you will make the others enter 
into my feelings. I can speak freely only to you ; but 
if I write confusedly you will unravel it. 

"Dear Melanie, when you hear the priest at mass 
intone the 'Sursum corda/ think that it is I who am 
speaking to you, who invite you in our dear Lord's 
name to lift up your heart. Yes, mount upwards ! up- 
wards! Mount always, like a bird of passage; and 
then all this sorrow will assume its just proportion, 
and Heaven will be attained. Even on this sad earth, 
with hearts on high, and spade in hand, we must labor 
each at his task. Be patient, gentle, loving; and pray 
for me, that I, working in my little furrow, may be 
the same. Pray for those among whom I am going to 
work; for these poor heathen brothers and sisters 
of ours, for whom I would so gladly give my life. 
Make your prayers thoroughly Catholic in that sense, 
for such is the real meaning of the communion of 
saints. 

86 



Theophane Venard 

'Trom time to time I hope you will write me long 
letters to cheer me in my solitude; and that you will 
beg our dear old friends to do the same. Think what 
a joyful surprise a letter will be to me out there! I 
shall send my scribblings in a Chinese guise to make 
you laugh ; for we must try and be gay and bright in 
our correspondence and not dwell always on the 
sadder side of life. And now, my darling sister, I 
must come to a stop. There is a limit to everything, 
even to these closely-written pages ! My heart rests 
on your heart and my hand in yours. A Dieu. You 
understand? God bless you, my dearest sister!" 

From Plymouth Theophane wrote also a few lines 
to his little brother : — 

''Bless our Lord, and the rain, and the winds and 
the tempests which have blown me into this town of 
Plymouth, that I might write one word more to my 
dear little Eusebius! Our good-bye has been said, 
and our lives will henceforth run in different channels ; 
— unless you come to have a Chinese taste like me ! I 
turn my back upon you, but not my heart, you will 
understand ! Our thoughts will ever be united, in our 
prayers as in our work. You are going back to col- 
lege. Work! work! work! Time is more precious 
than you realize. Learn all you possibly can, but 
especially languages; for people fraternize a great 
deal more than they used to do, and this fusion 
should tend to the triumph of truth. Try and co- 
operate in this great work. I leave you to the care of 
your good angel. May he guard and protect your 
youth and your whole life! Dear brother, we shall 
see each other in Heaven. I give you for advice 
the same words as to Melanie, 'Sursnm corda' May 

87 



A Modern Martyr 

God give you the fulness of His grace, patience, peace, 
and joy, in life and death! Amen." 



These letters were dated the 7th of October. Two 
days after, the voyagers left the port of Plymouth, 
and no news was received of them till the April fol- 
lowing, when a letter arrived from Singapore, dated 
February. Theophane wrote a long and detailed ac- 
count of the passage, but as all long voyages resemble 
one another, we will confine our extracts to a few per- 
sonal details: 

''We are entering the harbour,'' wrote Theophane. 
from Singapore, ''so I will prepare my home letters, 
and I am glad to do so on New Year's day. This 
morning my first thought after God was for you all. 
On the loth of October, Sunday evening, we left 
Plymouth. Another Belgian vessel, the 'Atalanta,' left 
the port at the same time, with 160 passengers who 
were going to the gold-fields. What a poor object! 
You may believe that not for all the gold in Australia 
or California would I have left you all! Our vessel 
is a very fast sailer, and our captain a model of all 
virtues, religious from conviction, speaking little but 
always to the point; he has his ship in perfect order, 
and is immensely popular with his men; his courtesy 
and kindness to us could not be exceeded. The days 
are long and monotonous on board ship ; a few strange 
birds, one or two swallows, flying-fish, and porpoises, 
with a shark here and there, these are the only events 
in a long voyage. The sea, I confess, wearies me to 
death. It is certainly a fine sight to see great waves 
rolling one over another, but I should prefer seeing it 

88 



Theophane Venard 

from terra iirma. We had the unspeakable consola- 
tion of daily mass for the first month and a half; but 
afterwards our altar-breads got spoiled. How I have 
longed for the possibility of paying a visit to the Bless- 
ed Sacrament, or once more of assisting at some 
Catholic ceremony! When the body is deprived of 
food, it languishes and dies ; and it is the same with the 
soul, without the Bread which sustains its life. . . . 
Time and again I found myself dreaming on deck, 
leaning against the bulw-arks, and looking back on 
my past life — my happy childhood, my darling mother, 
my father's sacrifices, my education, our joyous home- 
gatherings, my life at school and at college. . . . And 
now here I am, in the hands of Providence, full of 
thankfulness for past mercies and blessings, full of 
hope for the future. My dear father, in your last let- 
ter, consenting to my departure, you encouraged me 
by saying, "The hand of God is everywhere.' This 
shall henceforth be my motto. The hand of God is 
everywhere; therefore it will be everywhere with 
me. . . . On our arrival at Singapore we heard, with- 
out much astonishment, of the proclamation of the 
empire. God grant peace to our dear France ! In this 
country it seems to me that gold is the supreme god. 
New mines are daily discovered; but I never heard 
that they found in them peace or happiness. It is 
charity alone which is pure gold, gold tried in the fur- 
nace; the rest is but false money." 

Our missionaries were still at Singapore when sev- 
eral young Cochin-Chinese students arrived who had 
been sent by Bishop Gaultier to the College of Penang. 
The sight of them made Theophane's heart beat 
more quickly than ever, and he wrote to Father Bal- 
let,— 

89 



A Modern Martyr 

*'Every evening these young men pray together in 
their own language, and we put our ears to the cracks 
of the door to hear them. Their singing is so sweet! 
Such plaintive, touching tones! And shall I tell you 
all? They are real heroes that we have next to us, 
men on whose heads a price has been put for leaving 
their country. They are the sons, the brothers of 
martyrs, and they come from Annam, the land of 
martyrdoms.'' 

After spending three weeks at Singapore, Father 
Venard and two of his companions started for Hong 
Kong. The rest remained a few days longer, till 
a favorable opportunity presented itself for going to 
their respective destinations. Before leaving Singa- 
pore, Theophane wrote a few lines to the great friend 
and companion of his boyhood, a young lady living 
near his old home : — 

'T like to think that you remember our old walks on 
the hill side, and the pleasant readings we used to have 
together. I assure you I have a faithful memory and 
I never can think of those happy days without emo- 
tion. All my friends have a place in my heart and 
the thought of them often brings tears to my eyes; 
not that I regret what I have done, for it seems to me 
that I simply followed the inspiration of God's grace, 
but because this separation from those so dear to me 
cannot take place without a terrible wrench ; and when 
the wound is re-opened it bleeds. 

"You tell me that you are full of troubles and trials. 
I can well believe it; and I ask of God to give you 
strength and grace to bear them. You know how 
deeply interested I am in every thing that concerns 
you. Ah, one must own that life on this earth is a 

90 



Theophane Venard 

poor thing at best; there is scarcely a day without a 
cloud ! Sorrow and suffering are found everywhere ; 
they are the daily bread of each of us. The thing is 
to know how to use them. Happy those who know 
how to turn them to advantage! Such souls will be 
amply recompensed hereafter. I always look upon 
these miseries as a kind of money with which to buy 
Heaven; but then this money must bear the image of 
Jesus Christ, just as our ordinary coinage bears the 
superscription of the king or queen of the country 
where it is struck. Courage, then, courage! One 
King loves you and calls you to Himself by His own 
way, the royal road of the Cross. Try to love it for 
His sake, and to follow Him gladly, when and where 
He calls you. When we shall meet each other again in 
the place where we all hope to be reunited, you will be 
rich in glory, for you have been rich in sorrows and 
in merits!" 



91 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER VIII. 

In Hong-Kong — Final Preparation. 

From Singapore our missionary proceeded to Hong 
Kong, where he arrived after a long and tedious pas- 
sage on board an English sailing-ship. The joy which 
he felt on landing made him exclaim, ''I feel all the 
more keenly how great a rest it will be to quit this 
stormy sea of the world, and to repose in our good 
God!'' He was a little disappointed not to find at 
Hong Kong the letters which were to fix his future 
destination; but he consoled himself with the thought 
that he was not yet fit for the heavy charge of the 
apostolate. A still greater disappointment arose from 
finding no letters from home — not even one from his 
sister ! He felt this keenly and his loneliness pressed 
upon him heavily for the first few weeks. When tid- 
ings from his family at length arrived, he broke into 
a song of joy to his father, as follows: — 

"Oh, your letters did me so much good ! I love them 
as one loves the dew after great heats ; as the traveller 
in the desert rejoices at the green oasis where his 
camels and himself can rest and find shade and water. 
For we poor missionaries live, as it were, in a desert, 
and that always. When we get news of our loved 
ones at home, of our country, of our friends, how 
happy it makes us ! I feel a thousand times stronger 
when I have read and re-read your dear letters, for 
your sympathy fortifies and encourages me. I no 

92 



Theophane Venard 

longer feel alone in my sacrifice ; others share in it and 
live, as it were, with me in thought and heart. God be 
praised for the home-love in which I have been 
cradled and for the dear friends He has given me! 
I am as a branch of a tree, and no longer dried up by 
being separated from the parent stem, for the same 
loving sap runs through us all. God is surely very 
good to our human hearts, which He has formed, and 
of which He knows the yearnings and the weaknesses ; 
and then He is the same in China as in France, and 
what do we want beside Him on earth or in Heaven !'" 

Fr. Venard stayed fifteen months at Hong Kong, 
during which time he devoted himself to learning the 
Chinese language, in itself a most arduous and weari- 
some task; for the different dialects are innumerable, 
and though he put his whole heart into it, yet his 
health, which was affected by the great heat, often 
prevented his studying. When this was the case he 
used to take long walks by the sea-shore or in the 
mountains, trying to become acquainted with the peo- 
ple and their habits ; and although their hypocrisy and 
egotism often disgusted him, still the modesty of the 
women, and their careful decency in dress and man- 
ner, often contrasted favorably with the customs of 
his own countrywomen. What drove him almost to 
despair was the bad example given to the natives by 
Europeans calling themselves Christians, who, as he 
expressed it, ''wherever they went, spoiled God's 
work." But his special indignation was aroused by 
the conduct of the English engaged in the opium 
trade. He writes to his sister, — 

"Thi^ opium is a substance extracted from the 
poppy and is smoked like tobacco. The result Is a 

93 



A Modern Martyr 

positive destruction of all the faculties of mind and 
body, ending in complete stupefaction. The Chinese 
have a passion for this pernicious drug, and the Eng- 
lish an equal anxiety to supply them with it; they 
bring it from Hindustan. In spite of treaties and pro- 
testations, the sums acquired in this contraband traffic 
are enormous, and the trade is a thorough disgrace to 
the English nation. If the devil had tried to invent 
something to ruin men, body and soul, he could not 
have hit on any thing more effectual. I wish we could 
have an association of prayers to try and put down 
this infamous traffic." 

Writing to Father Dallet about the Chinese insur- 
rection, he says, ''Nothing can be more terrible at 
this moment than the state of China. But the melan- 
choly thing is that European agents are at the bottom 
of it, and vainly expect, by coquetting with the rebels, 
to promote a Protestant movement among the people. 
Never was there such a delusion! . . . The worst of 
it is that it all adds to the hatred of the Chinese 
toward strangers ; so that when the Emperor succeeds 
in defeating the rebels, which is inevitable, his ven- 
geance will fall on the Europeans, and especially on 
the missionaries. . . . You ask me, 'What are the 
rebels about?' Nobody knows. The French and 
English papers write long articles, and give their read- 
ers astounding intelligence of battles fought and won, 
and develop grand theories as to the future of the 
Chinese Empire; but they are all the dreams of edi- 
tors. Every one laughs at them here, for there is not 
a word of truth in their statements ; and as to the mar- 
vellous changes which this rebellion is to bring about, 
I think they will find that the mountain has brought 
forth a mouse! They talk, too, of the energetic rep- 

94 



Theophane Venard 

resentations made by the French and EngHsh minis- 
ters in favor of Christianity; all this is pure inven- 
tion. The spirit of Constantine and of St. Louis is 
far from being that of modern Governments, which 
have all become more or less atheistical under the in- 
fluence of Protestant, rationalistic, and infidel doc- 
trines; expediency is their watchword. As for us, in 
God alone is our hope and succor. Let us pray, then, 
more and more fervently for the conversion of the 
infidels." 

The numbers of letters which we find written by 
Theophane to his old friend. Father Dallet, prove that 
their affection had not been cooled by distance or sep- 
aration. We give an extract from one written on the 
26th of September, 1853: — 

''You ask me, dear old friend, if you live as much 
as ever in my remembrance? Oh yes, quite as much! 
I love you with a special and devoted attachment, and 
you must not be scandalized at it. It is surely allow- 
able to have a warm, particular friendship, especially 
when so far away from its object, and the community 
will not be the sufferers. I have a full belief and con- 
fidence that God does not disapprove of it ; for it is in 
Him and for Him that our hearts have been united. 
It is not the evil which is in us that unites us in this 
tender bond of love but our higher and better aspira- 
tions. Let us, then, be forever one, my dearest 
brother, united in the same work, devoted to the same 
cause, humble disciples of the same Master. . . . Our 
feet toil painfully here on earth, but our thoughts soar 
above. . . . My Bishop wrote to me, just before I left 
Paris, T pray for you to our dear Lord, that your de- 
votion may daily become more perfect, that your holo- 

95 



A Modern Martyr 

caust be complete, and that having embarked in so 
great a work, you may persevere in it after the manner 
of the saints. Do not he an Apostle by halves, my dear 
child/ . . . Now I have these words always before 
me, and they give me courage and strength; and I 
have copied them for you that you may use them too. 
... I have been laughing at the idea of your beard, 
of which you fancy I shall be envious; but I assure 
you my moustache is quite enough for me. . . . Dear- 
est friend, I am afraid you are a good deal tried in 
your present mission. If I were only by your side to 
grasp your hand and share all your troubles, as of old ! 
I know you so well that I feel the more for your pe- 
culiar trials. But it is always the same ; the gold must 
pass through the furnace. God will prove and try 
you, and having fed you with milk, He is now wean- 
ing you for stronger and greater things. Don't let us 
be 'Apostles by halves!' It's a great thing to be a 
missionary! Our duties are without limit, and imply 
perfection, if possible. All the miseries you picture 
to me I feel and see vividly, and my heart bleeds for 
you. I feel that my own soul is strengthened by suf- 
fering, and that from one's very wounds arise greater 
vigour, firmness, and courage. You tell me of all 
these sad things, but you add, 'Happy are those who 
can keep themselves apart, and live in the still silence 
of their own hearts with God.' May God pour into 
your wounds the wine and oil which alone can heal 
them, and make you taste the sweetness as well as the 
bitterness of His cross ! . . . Well, I must stop. My 
heart could go on forever to you, but my head and 
hand are tired. I repeat constantly for us both my 
favorite little ejaculation 'Jesu, mitis et hiimilis corde, 

96 




THE REV. PROSPER DELPECH, 

Director at the " Missions Etrangeres." 
(A former classmate of Theophane Venard, in Paris.) 



Theophane Venard 

miserere nobis T^ In fact, I say these words so con- 
stantly to myself that they have become a habit. I 
hear you exclaim, 'Ah, he is going to preach again!' 
No, for once you are wrong. I am not going to give 
you any more bad advice but try and become more 
humble and amiable myself. God bless you, dearest 
friend and brother.'' 

Theophane had many warm college friends besides 
Father Dallet; and among these we must mention the 
Abbe Theurel, afterwards Bishop of Acanthus. These 
links were never broken till the end, for Theophane 
looked upon them, ''as given by God, that each soul 
might be helped upwards by mutual love in the heav- 
enly race." After some weeks spent together at Hong 
Kong, Fr. Theurel left for Tonquin, leaving Theo- 
phane to follow him later. This separation with the 
last of his fellow-travellers was very trying to our 
missionary, who consoled himself by writing certain 
stanzas in honour of his friend. He had always a 
great taste and talent for poetry, and often used to say 
that he had to guard himself, like Father Faber, lest 
it should absorb him too much. Other friends from 
the Paris Seminary soon joined him, among whom 
was Father Chapdelaine, who was much older than 
Theophane, being about forty. Theophane describes 
Fr. Chapdelaine as "a Norman, with an iron consti- 
tution, frank, gay, and loyal in character, a capital 
companion, and above all, a holy and courageous mis- 
sionary/' Writing to Fr. Dallet, he adds, "Father 
Chapdelaine (who sends you his best love, by-the-by) 
is only waiting till his little lodging is prepared, to 
start. He is the healthiest, the most active, and the 
jolliest of us all; and Father Bariod might well say 

♦Jesus, meek and humble of heart, have mercy on us. 

97 



A Modern Martyr 

on his birthday that he had 'the rosiness of perpetual 
youth.' '' After a few years of arduous toil in the mis- 
sion of Kouang-Si, this joyous, ardent spirit received 
in 1856 the crown of martyrdom! But we are antici- 
pating. 

Near the town of Hong Kong a College had 
been established for the Canton Mission, under the 
patronage of St. Francis Xavier. Fr. Guillemin was 
the head of this College, and he asked Fr. Venard to 
come and teach philosophy to the students who had 
made their first studies at Penang, another missionary 
college. Theophane gladly accepted, delighted to find 
some definite work during this time of weary waiting, 
and especially to be under the direction of a man 
whom every one looked upon as a saint. A few years 
later this same Fr. Guillemin came to Europe, was 
consecrated Bishop at Rome, and then paid a visit to 
France, bringing with him a young Chinese who had 
been Theophane's pupil. Eusebius Venard was at 
that time in the Seminary and described Bishop Guil- 
lemin's visit to Poitiers as follows: — 

''It was on the 30th of January, 1857, that Bishop 
Guillemin came to the Seminary to talk to us about 
his mission. The first day I could not get a private con- 
versation with him, but I made acquaintance with 
Benedict, his Chinese companion, and began talking 
to him about Theophane. The moment I mentioned 
his name, Benedict's face lit up with joy, and one 
could see that the name awoke in him the fondest 
recollections ; from that moment we became like 
brothers. The next day I was presented to the Bishop ; 
he looked at me attentively, and seeing in me a like- 
ness to my brother, exclaimed, 'Oh, my dear Abbe! 
my good Abbe !' and was much moved. Then he be- 

98 



Theophane Venard 

gan to talk of Theophane, of his zeal and devotion, of 
his bright, gay, frank manner, of his distinguished tal- 
ents, of the way he was beloved, and of his ingenious 
charity and kindness towards every one. He added, 
'When I was made Superior of the Canton mission, 
all the students, with Theophane at their head, came 
to congratulate me, and to recite some verses which 
he had composed in my honour. He had even made a 
mitre and crozier of bamboo, with a playful allusion 
to their being a prophecy of what they most wished, 
to which dignity, unhappily for my poor self, I have 
now arrived. But this cheerful, bright spirit of his 
was of immense use to me in directing the College. 
The students idolized Father Theophane, and he kept 
up an admirable spirit amongst them, which enabled 
them to make light of every hardship and difficulty. 
He went with me one day up a high mountain, from 
which he could see what he called his 'Promised 
land.' Never did I see him so joyous. Ah, your 
brother is indeed a perfect missionary and I have done 
nothing but regret his departure for Tonquin, for I 
loved him very much, and he belonged to me first of 
all !' He then gave me many little details of his daily 
life, too long to write, but all showing his deep affec- 
tion for my brother, and his thorough appreciation of 
his merits." 

It was in the month of February, 1854, that Father 
Venard received his orders for the Western district 
of Tonquin. He wrote at once to express his joy to 
Fr. Barran, Superior of the Foreign Mission Semi- 
nary at Paris. 

"Very Rev. Father Superior, — Tonquinese for 
Chinese, I shall not lose much by the exchange! I 

LOFC. ^ 



A Modern Martyr 

should have Hked any mission which was awarded 
me; but that of Tonquin, under the care of Bishop 
Retord, so full of holy associations and blessed recol- 
lections, oh, this is indeed the post I should most ar- 
dently have coveted! I love it as being the heritage 
which the great Father has awarded to me. I love it 
because it is the grandest mission of all, 'the Diamond 
of Asia,' as a poet has called it. When I was at Paris, 
and so unhappy at being left behind, when my broth- 
ers had all been sent to their respective destinations, 
Fr. Albrand, to console me, said, 'Do not be cast 
down, this is not a case of tarde venientibus ossa!''\ — I 
like to think of this, and I beg of you to express my 
gratitude to that dear, good Father for all his kind- 
ness towards me." 

Theophane wrote also to his family. "Well, my 
dear people, I am going to Tonquin. There the vener- 
able Charles Cornay died a martyr. I do not say that 
the same fate is reserved for me ; but if you will only 
pray ardently, perhaps God may grant me a like 
grace. ... I am not going to China, which I have 
seen as Moses saw the promised land; but I must 
guide my boat to another shore, a shore on which Frs. 
Schoeffler and Bonnard (one on the ist of May, 185 1, 
the other on the ist of May, 1852) obtained the 
martyr's palm.* It is in the Annamite country, which 
includes Tonquin and Cochin-China, where the spirit 
of persecution is most active. A price is put on the 
head of each missionary, and when one is found, they 
put him to death without hesitation. But God knows 

tBones to the late comers. 

^Fathers Cornay, Schoeffler and Bonnard were all former stu- 
dents of the Paris Mission Seminary. Frs. Schoeffler and Bon- 
nard were decapitated; Fr. Cornay was not only decapitated but 
dismembered. 

100 



Theophane Venard 

His own, and only to those whom He chooses is the 
grace of martyrdom given. One is taken and the 
other left ; and there as every where His Holy Will is 
done. In spite of the violence and the universality of 
the persecution, there the missions are the most flour- 
ishing. 'Sanguis martyrum semen Christianomm/f 
We run the risk likewise of being cut off by pirates in 
the passage from Hong Kong to Tonquin; but that 
must be as God permits. . . . This mission, to which 
I am appointed, is indeed a great one, — in its organiza- 
tion, in the number and fervour of its converts, who 
amount to upwards of 150,000 souls; greater still in 
its hopes ; in its native clergy, who number 80 priests, 
and 1200 catechists; in its religious communities, for 
there are upwards of 600 sisters ; in its seminaries, 
with more than 300 students ; in its chief pastor, of 
whom the highest praise that can be given is, that 
since his episcopate, he has added 40,000 sheep to his. 
fold. Is not that a noble escort with which to mount 
to Heaven? a beautiful crown for all eternity? I can- 
not tell you with what impatience I am looking for- 
ward to being under so holy a bishop, to be initiated 
by him into the apostolic ministry, to be trained in his 
school, and to march, as a simple soldier, under the 
orders of so great a general. There are already six 
missionaries under him from the Foreign Mission 
Seminary. May I make a worthy seventh ! And then 
think of the martyrs, — those real glories of Tonquin, 
those immortal flowers gathered by our Lord's own 
hand in the garden of His predilection. These mar- 
tyrs are the patrons and protectors of the mission; 
their blood, shed in the great cause, is always plead- 
ing for us before God, and the remembrance of their 

tThe blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians. 

101 



A Modern Martyr 

triumph gives fresh courage to those who are still in 
the strife. Only think what an honour and what a 
happiness it would be for your poor Theophane, if 
God deigned, . . . you understand. 'Te Deum lauda- 

mus Te martyriim candidatus laudat exer- 

citus' "t 

He wrote also to his old friend, Father Dallet; and 
as if martyrdom was the great object of his life, he ex- 
claimed to his friend, ''Only a few years ago Frs. 
Galy and Berneux were seized on their arrival at Ton- 
quin ; if the same good luck could only befall us ! Oh, 
dear old friend, every time the thought of martyrdom 
comes across me, I thrill with joy and hope ! But then 
this better part is not given to all. I dare not aspire 
to so brilliant a crown, but I cannot help feeling a 
longing and sighing for such a grace. 'Domine qui 
dixisti: major em charitatem nemo habet ut animam 
suam ponat qitispro amicis suis/X You do not forget 
our mutual prayer, it has for me an inexpressible 
charm: 'Sancta Maria, Regina Martyrum, ora pro 
nobis /''^'f Pray, pray for your poor little friend, who 
never forgets you, no, not for a single day!'' 

To his brother Henry he wrote, " How well I un- 
derstand what you meant when you said, ''Eusebius 
has arrived fresh and well, so that we are almost a 
complete family party." And I, poor little I, on the 
contrary, am going farther and farther away! Ah! I 
assure you my thoughts travel back to St. Loup very, 
very often, and the tears come into my eyes when I 



tWe praise Thee, O God. The white-robed army of martyrs gives 

praise to Thee. 

to Lord, Thou who hast said, Greater love than this no man hath 
that he lay down his life for his friends. 

ttHoly Mary, Queen of Martyrs, pray for us. 
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Theophane Venard 

think of you all and our happy home, and all the joys 
of one's childhood and youth. Never since my de- 
parture have I known family happiness and real love ; 
such things are not to be met with every day ! But I 
expected it. I felt that it was inevitable. All I can 
hope is, that after the wound will come the healing. 
Every age, every position has its cares, its pains, and 
its bitternesses. Nothing except what comes from 
God is good here below; but we have much to thank 
Him for, and especially for the grace which makes us 
His friends. . . . Do not think of me as sad; on the 
contrary, I am very happy and bright; when one is 
working and living for God, one's heart is at ease. 
And you, you say, are all day scribbling on musty 
papers. Well, office life has its charms for some. For 
me, had I not chosen a different path, I should have 
preferred to work in the fresh air. The day's shoot- 
ing you tell me of brought back such pleasant recol- 
lection of the good old times. I could have fancied 
myself there! At Tonquin I wonder what I shall find? 
Not much game, I fancy. Well, one finds our good 
God everywhere, and He is our happiness and our 
joy. There is no use in being sad, so that in the midst 
of discouragement and disgust, and every kind of 
mental suffering, one must try and take one's heart 
in both hands, and force it to cry out, Welcome joy 
all the same !' The soul finds itself in such a different 
state at different times ; some days, gay and calm, and 
at ease ; other days, sad and weary, and broken- 
hearted. This is the case with every one, unless you 
are a phenomenon! I believe it is the struggle be- 
tween the upper and lower parts of our nature. When 
our better half triumphs, we are at peace; but when 
we let ourselves go, and yield to our natural inclina- 

103 



A Modern Martyr 

tions, then comes a state of disorder, of anxiety, of 
longing after the impossible, of dissatisfaction with 
our lot and with the position in which God has seen 
fit to place us. This state of mind must be vigor- 
ously resisted, for it obscures our judgment and falsi- 
fies our ideas. Now there are certain things which 
strengthen the ascendency of evil thoughts in us, and 
these are bad companions, bad books, a forgetfulness 
of daily duties, and consequent vicious habits. But of 
all these, bad books are the worst. They are the plague 
of the present day. A book is bad not only when it 
contains impure and immoral thoughts, but when it 
gives false ideas, pretending to judge of every thing, 
to ridicule every thing sacred or venerable. Such 
books are all the worse when they are beautifully 
written, as they often are ; they vitiate the taste and 
give a disgust for all healthy food. I knew a young 
man in the navy whose mind had been completely 
poisoned by this kind of reading; and when he came 
to realize the evil of it, you cannot imagine how he 
expressed himself to me about these pernicious books. 
My dearest brother, forgive me for saying all this ; but 
I know your passion for reading, and all I venture to 
say is, do not play with poison. 

To his favorite sister he added a few words of fare- 
well. She had told him that having, for fun, drawn 
lots at Christmas as to who should represent the dif- 
ferent personages at the Nativity, she had drawn the 
name of ''Mary;" but Theophane's lot had fallen on 
that of the ass. In reply, Theophane says gaily, "I 
am very much pleased at the portion awarded me in 
your drawing. I am to be the ass. Very well. I 
won't accuse you of a little bit of mischief in the mat- 
ter, but accept my part. Well, the ass knows how to 

104 



Theophane Venard 

bray; that is to teach me to be a good trumpeter of 
the Gospel. The ass receives blows without com- 
plaint: may his patience be my model. Again, the 
poor animal is treated with scorn and derision, his 
very name is the reverse of a compliment ; but he goes 
on his way just the same. Well, like him, I must dis- 
regard human opinion, cultivate humility, bear to be 
despised, and follow my Lord and Master every- 
where, always, and in spite of all. As for you, my 
darling little sister, you have indeed chosen the bet- 
ter part. Guard it carefully. It is a life of recollec- 
tion, of union with God. I fancy you sitting like 
Mary at Bethany, at the feet of Jesus, listening to His 
Word, — gentle, attentive, loving, and caring nothing 
for the world outside. Your life must be not only the 
active one of Martha, but the contemplative one of 
Mary, for both were united in the Mother of our dear 
Lord. The true science of piety, in fact, consists in 
reconciling these two. I know you love best to be 
Mary, but when duty compels you to act as Martha 
did, do not be only Martha, full of anxiety, and 'care- 
ful about much serving.' Do the works of Martha 
with the spirit of Mary; let the interior life leaven 
the exterior, conforming your will to the Will of 
Jesus. Dearest sister, imitate Jesus, imitate His holy 
Mother, and you will be indeed perfect.'' 



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A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER IX. 

Arrival at Tonquin. 

On the 26th of May, 1854, Theophane Venard, 
with an older missionary who was returning to Ton- 
quin, said good-bye to Hong Kong, and as the wind 
was favorable, a few hours' sail brought them to 
Macao, where they were most kindly and hospitably 
entertained by the Spanish Dominicans. Fr. Venard, 
speaking of this town, says, ''When the Portuguese 
were masters of the sea, Macao was an important 
place. Ships of all nations were anchored in its har- 
bor, and it was the centre and emporium of all the 
European commerce with China. The numberless 
missionaries who have watered the Chinese soil with 
their blood all started from Macao, whence they 
spread themselves to the remotest confines of this 
great empire. Portugal had a noble mission assigned 
to her by Providence, but she misunderstood and re- 
jected it. This brought her downfall, and it seemed 
as if God had broken her as one breaks a useless or 
worn-out instrument. The kings of the earth have 
never gained any thing in their strifes with the Church 
of Jesus Christ, and against His vicar on earth, and 
their victory is magnificently rendered in the Psalms, 
'Et nunc, reges, intelligite; erudimini qui judicatis 
terram.'t Macao is indeed a ruin. There is a gov- 
ernor, it is true; but he has no longer any prestige, 

$And now, ye kings, understand; learn, ye who judge the earth. 

106 



Theophane Venard 

Soldiers still mount guard but their number is mis- 
erably small, and no one has any money to pay them. 
There are fine houses, but those which are not shut 
up are occupied by English or Americans. A rich 
Portugese scarcely exists; but the poor actually 
swarm. The Chinese alone still maintain some kind 
of trade. Hong Kong gave the death blow to Macao. 
There are one or two curious things to be seen in the 
old colony ; the tomb of Camoens, buried between two 
rocks in the midst of the most beautiful scenery, just 
such as one might imagine should be the grave of a 
poet. This tomb forms the principal ornament of a 
garden, which, unfortunately, is poorly kept. It is a 
place much frequented by strangers, and some of them 
have had the bad taste to cut their names in the rock ; 
others (among whom, I am sorry to say, are some 
French sailors) have written stupid and even indecent 
rhymes on the slab above.'' 

On the 2nd of June our two missionaries left 
Macao, and we read the following account of their 
journey in the letters of Theophane to his family: — 

"TONQUIN^ 

"The Eve of St. John^ June 23, 1854. 
"My dearest Brothers, — To you I am going to 
write my first Tonquin letter. I arrived safe and 
sound at the mission of the Spanish Dominican 
Fathers, and I write now to give you some details of 
our voyage. Fr. Legrand and I embarked at Macao 
on the 2nd of June, towards evening. We thought our 
Chinese captain would weigh anchor immediately. 
Not a bit of it. A Chinaman will never do any thing 
directly. They had to deliberate as to the voyage, 
consult the Devil, take precautions against pirates, &c. 

107 



A Modern Martyr 

We were to sail in company with other Chinese junks; 
but the Chinese mistrust one another, and before mak- 
ing an actual start, they feign to go several times, to 
see if the other ships are ready and trustworthy. 
There we were, two poor European missionaries, 
among a people who don't admire any thing from 
Europe, and who are always ready to insult those 
who do not inspire them with fear. We were thrust 
into a little hole where we could only sit or lie down, 
breathing foul air, and covered with vermin. Here 
we had to stay day and night, for if we attempted to 
leave it the Chinese called us ^Foreign Devils,' and 
amused themselves by examining all we had on, and 
all that we did. If the departure were delayed, if 
the wind blew, if we were threatened by pirates, it 
was we who were to blame. It was impossible to 
please them. If we tried to be kind or familiar with 
them, they insulted us ; if we talked little, and main- 
tained a certain gravity and reserve, we were cold and 
haughty. The only source of strength and consola- 
tion to the missionary in these miseries is the cross. 
He thus passes over many things which would other- 
wise irritate and wound; so we can maintain a cer- 
tain equanimity, a necessary virtue in the East though 
sometimes rather difficult to attain. But the courier 
is waiting. . . . We set sail at last, in company with 
seventy vessels, whose skippers, after parleying, had 
come to an understanding with our captain ; they were 
obliged to make a formidable appearance in numbers 
so as to intimidate the pirates. We caught sight of 
six of the latter's vessels in a place called Tin-Pac^ 
and being well armed, we fired upon them with the 
small cannon in our bows; they retreated, and we 
made all sail towards Hai-Nan, a large island, where 

108 



Theophane Venard 

we remained several days, anchoring under a town 
which is said to contain two hundred thousand in- 
habitants. We did not dare to land, or in fact, to 
show ourselves in any way. One of our missionaries 
from the diocese of Poitiers, Fr. Bisch, is working 
here, but we could only salute him with our hearts. 
On leaving Hai-Nan, the Chinese junks separated, 
only a small number steering for Tonquin. Until then 
the sea had been calm and beautiful ; afterwards it be- 
came windy, and I paid my usual tribute to the fishes. 
. . . Two days later we sighted the shores of Ton- 
quin. I cannot tell you my feeling as we neared the 
place of disembarkation. I offered myself again to 
God, begging Him to dispose of me for His glory 
and honour, and I invoked my Mother Mary, and my 
guardian angel, and the Patron Saints of Tonquin. . . 
The general view of the country is magnificent; rich 
plains, with grassy hills, a luxuriant vegetation, such 
as one reads of in Robinson Crusoe, and the whole 
backed by a superb range of snowy mountains. 
We entered the harbour by the mouth of a beautiful 
river which glided through woods and gardens till we 
cast anchor at a place called Cua Cam, which is the 
centre of the contraband Chinese trade. We were no 
longer allowed to see the light of day, and even at 
night we dared to breathe the fresh air on deck only 
with very great precautions. This state of things 
lasted (fortunately for us) not more than forty-eight 
hours. The mandarin of the Custom House came to 
inspect our vessel. We could see this august person- 
age through the cracks of our prison, while we 
scarcely ventured to breathe, and most carefully ab- 
stained from all noise or movement; but the old fox 
returned to the shore without having scented the nest. 

109 



A Modern Martyr 

The next day a Christian boat came for us, as nearly- 
all the inhabitants of Cua Cam are Christians. There 
was a misunderstanding between our Christians and 
.the crew; but the Christian rowers, seeing that we 
were not afraid, took courage and managed to bring 
us in a few hours to the flourishing Mission House of 
the Spanish Dominicans. Bishop Hilarion Alcazar re- 
ceived us in his episcopal palace (which, you must un- 
derstand, is in these countries a simple hut or cabin), 
and treated us with that generous and delicate hos- 
pitality which makes one think of the early Chris- 
tians. He has insisted on my resting here a few days 
to recover from the effects of the late voyage, and I 
am enjoying that ineffable peace and joy which seems 
to me specially sent by our Lord to His missionaries.'' 

Fr. Venard continues his recital to his sister a few 
weeks later as follows: — 

''Western Mission, Tonquin, 
''Ving Tri, July 31, 1854. 
''My dearest Sister, — You have doubtless read 
my letter to Henry and Eusebius, describing our 
voyage from Macao to Tonquin ; we heard afterwards 
that if we had delayed our landing for a few hours 
only, the news of our death would have followed that 
of our arrival; for three royal ships, having heard a 
rumor of our coming, surrounded the Chinese junk 
in which we had taken our passage, and examined her 
minutely in every part, as well as other vessels, so that 
no escape would have been possible. But God pre- 
served us, and at that very moment we were enjoying 
the refined hospitality of Bishop Alcazar. We stayed 
there eight days but I was ill all the time. An Anna- 
mite doctor gave me some kind of tonic which enabled 

110 



Theophane Venard 

me at last to continue my journey. You will wonder 
at hearing me talk of doctors and medicines, as you 
probably imagine that I am in a country of savages. 
But you must know that the civilization of the Anna- 
mites equals, if it does not surpass in some points, 
that of Europe; and they possess physicians of un- 
deniable skill and very high reputations in the coun- 
try. The one who attended me could tell at once by 
the pulse the nature of my malady and said that it 
arose from derangement of the liver. From Bishop 
Alcazar's we went on to Bishop Hermozilla, a vener- 
able man, like an ancient column standing amidst the 
ruins. Nothing can equal the simplicity and piety of 
this good old bishop. One day, while we were there, 
the heads of the mission came to him with a complaint 
that the peasants had not paid up what they call 'the 
rice of the Blessed Virgin,' a species of tithe for the 
maintenance of the altars, levied on the congregations, 
and put under Our Lady's protection. The bishop 
took the side of the poor, as the rice harvest that 
month had failed, and he finally gained their cause. 
We stayed only two days at this episcopal palace. 
Don't let the name mislead you. A bishop's residence 
here means a poor cabin, half wood and half mud, 
thatched with straw. The houses are all of the same 
kind and it is easy to get used to them, for the cli- 
mate is very hot. All one needs is protection from the 
sun and the rain. 

*'The churches are not more beautiful. A straw 
roof, sustained by wooden pillars, which are hung 
with silk on festivals, that is all our splendour. A 
few rough boards form the altar. If the Annamite 
Church enjoyed any kind of peace, even for a time, 
more sumptuous temples would be built. But now it 

111 



A Modern Martyr 

is not worth while to construct any thing but tempor- 
ary buildings, which may be removed at the break- 
ing out of any fresh persecution. After a few days 
we started for the Central Vicariate of the Spanish 
Fathers. We were to have gone by water, but the 
wind was against us, so we had to be transported in 
a hammock, according to the custom of the coun- 
try, and in this way to traverse many Pagan villages, 
passing near a great market or fair which was being 
held on the road-side. We were just in the middle of 
this fair, when we came upon the house of a man- 
darin, the great man of the place. Now it is a rule 
that all travellers, unless of superior rank, shall go on 
foot before these residences, to testify their respect. 
We did not dare to conform to this usage and thereby 
show ourselves to the crowd. Our bearers quickened 
their pace to a trot. Presently came the cry after us, 
'Who are those men that do not get down from their 
nets?' The catechist, at the head of our escort, re- 
plied that we were 'sick people of his household.' 'At 
least let them lower their nets,' replied the sentinel. 
The bearers were compelled to obey. Fr. Legrand, who 
knows the language, was in a blue fright. I, on the 
contrary, who did not in the least understand our dan- 
ger, thought that we were supposed to get out, and 
with joy began to stretch my legs. The bearers, 
luckily, did not give me time, but hurriedly raised us 
again and trotted on. If the Pagans had paid us a 
visit what a prize they would have found! We soon 
came to the river and found several Christian junks, 
into one of which we gladly stepped, our rowers con- 
veying us safely to the hut of Bp. Diaz, Vicar-Apos- 
tolic of the Central Mission of Tonquin. Two couri- 
ers were waiting for us there, sent by Bp. Retord to 

112 







pl^C^' .^''8^..^C'< .-*->» ''t^- 



r r,-.^ - > .-, *-'■- 



SOLDIERS IN TONQUIN. 



Theophane Venard 

escort us to our final destination. After a few days' 
rest we bade good-bye to their cordial, frank, and 
noble Spanish hospitality, and the last stage of our 
journey began, not less dangerous. We went in a 
junk by night, and had to pass a citadel guarded by 
400 soldiers, stationed there to protect a rice granary 
belonging to the king. When our boat was opposite 
the citadel, we were hailed, and asked who we were. 
The owners of the junk replied that we were man- 
darins. The soldiers did not believe this, and very 
soon we heard a drum sound the alarm, and in a mo- 
ment a vessel came after us in hot pursuit. Luckily, 
we had a favourable wind, and as we were some dis- 
tance ahead, their boat could not reach us. A second 
junk was behind us, carrying our baggage and attend- 
ants. This they attacked, but our men defended them- 
selves bravely, so that they too escaped. This will 
give you some idea, dearest sister, of the way in which 
we travel in Tonquin. One goes generally by night, 
for greater security; sometimes by water, on rivers 
or canals, with a continual change of boats; some- 
times by land, like mighty lords, in palanquins, or on 
the backs of slaves in a species of net or hammock, 
while the matting at the side hides you from the 
passers-by. Sometimes one can only go on foot, with- 
out shoes, in the little narrow paths between the rice- 
fields. If it be day-time, one has a fair chance of es- 
caping the difficulties of the road, but at night one 
must be content to walk 'clumpity-clump,' falling into 
holes one moment, into rice-water the next, unable to 
find a firm footing anywhere; and often, when you 
think you are going on swimmingly, your foot slips 
on the greasy, damp soil, and you measure your length 
in the mud. Now, don't you think this is a very pic- 

113 



A Modern Martyr 

turesque way of travelling? I don't say that it is not 
a little fatiguing now and then, but I assure you it is 
very laughable at times and gives rise to a host of 
comical adventures. 

''On the 13th of this month we arrived at the scene 
of our future labors, and I was introduced for the 
first time to my Vicar-Apostolic, the illustrious Bp. 
Retord, whose name you so often read in the 'Annals/ 
I found his Grace busy giving a Retreat previous to 
an ordination. Bp. Jeantet, his coadjutor, and Dean 
of the Tonquin Mission, was helping him. Two other 
missionaries had also arrived on business. We were 
therefore six Europeans together — two bishops and 
four missionary priests, a rare event in Tonquin. . . . 
You can't think how happy I felt to be one of them; 
there was such frankness and simplicity — such good- 
ness and condescension on the part of our superiors. 
Very soon we felt as if we had known one another all 
our lives, and we talked of every conceivable subject — 
France, Rome, the Russian war, &c. ; and before we 
separated, we sang together a whole heap of new and 
old songs and national hymns." 

Soon after he wrote to Fr. Dallet, — 

"'Whom do you think I found here with Bp. Retord ? 
Who but my dearest friend, Fr. Theurel, to whom I 
had said good-bye with such bitter tears only one 
short year ago. What now of possibilities, eh ! Father 
Dallet? Here I have been a month in all the delights 
of Tonquin, for I assure you there are great pleasures 
here. Theurel preaches, confesses, burns with desire 
for work; his health is as good as possible. Mine, 
perhaps, is not first-rate, but what is the use of com- 
plaining? You know the fable, 'Weak health often 

114 



Theophane Venard 

goes on longest.' So I console myself. Courage! I 
am always repeating those maxims of St. Theresa's, — 

'' 'Let nothing disturb thee ! 
Let nothing affright thee! 
All passeth away: 

God only shall stay. 
Patience wins all. 
Who hath God needeth nothing, 
For God is his all.' 

'T forgot to tell you that all our worldly goods were 
pillaged by the Pagans, so that we are destitute of 
everything; but what does that signify? He who has 
God lacks nothing. You will easily believe that my 
first visit was to the tomb of Fr. Bonnard. It is close 
to the altar of the College Chapel." 

If Fr. Venard was pleased to find his old friend at 
Tonquin, the joy to Fr. Theurel was equally great. 

''Who would ever have said, or thought, or imag- 
ined such good fortune," exclaimed the latter in a 
letter to their mutual friend, Father Dallet. "How- 
ever improbable it may seem, it is nevertheless a posi- 
tive fact, that here are Father Venard and I, together, 
in this western mission of Tonquin, actually in the 
same village, in the same house, in the same room! 
To describe the pleasure, the joy it has given us! . . . 
Yes, but then I feel as if you would break your heart 
at not being here too. Nevertheless, you must take 
comfort. Will you believe it? Venard, who has only 
been here a month, already speaks the language with 
a perfect accent. I think his little voice is made for it. 
'All goes well.' I can only wish you the joy and 
peace of the poor little Tonquin missionaries." 

115 



A Modern Martyr 

Theophane's happiness in being at last fairly em- 
barked on his work, and in the very mission he would 
have chosen above all others, found vent in an enthu- 
siastic poem. This outpouring of his heart was occu- 
pied with the three great objects of his life: work, the 
salvation of souls, and death. 



116 



i 



Theophane Venard 



CHAPTER X. 

Persecutions in Tonquin. 

Of all missions those of Cochin-China, Corea, and 
Tonquin have been exposed to the cruellest persecu- 
tions. Tonquin, perhaps, deserves first rank, and 
young missionaries have consequently looked upon it 
as the vestibule to Heaven. The cross has been the 
program of Tonquin missionaries ; for, from the first, 
their lives have been one long martyrdom, — ^prefig- 
ured by a great cross found on the Annamite shore 
by a Dominican missionary, Diego Advarte, in 1596, 
before any European had entered the country. 

Jesuits were the founders of the mission, in the 
person of Father Alexander Rhodes, who died in 
1660. From them it passed into the hands of the 
Paris Foreign Mission Seminary, to whose priests it 
has always proved a land of special interest. In fact, 
from the first missionary martyred in 1684 until the 
present day, the Church of Tonquin, always under 
the shadow of persecution, may be said to have grown 
with her head on the block, and her children's feet 
steeped in blood. 

Still, there have been moments of calm between the 
storms. The first great persecution was in the 
eighteenth century, and God avenged it by destroying 
its authors and deprivng them of their thrones. The 
dynasties of Cochin-China and Tonquin were swept 

117 



A Modern Martyr 

ofif the face of the earth, and the rightful heir, re- 
placed by the hand of a Christian Bishop, resumed his 
sceptre when he had torn asunder the bloody edicts of 
the persecutors. Twenty years of peace under this 
Prince Gia-Long gave breathing time to the Annamite 
Church, and prepared it for the frightful persecu- 
tions of Minh-Menh, a monster in human form who 
rivalled Nero in his cruelties. The "Annals," narrate 
the horrible persecution which broke out in 1833 and 
lasted till 1841. Frs. Gagelin, Marchand, Cornay, 
Jaccard, Borie, with a great number of Spanish 
Dominicans and native teachers, fell victims to this 
relentless tyrant. God did not leave him unpunished, 
however, for Minh-Menh was killed by a fall from his 
horse on the 21st of January, 1841, and execrated 
equally by Pagans and Christians. The new king, 
Thien-Tri, weary of the bloody edicts of his predeces- 
sor, passed an act of amnesty, annulling the penal 
laws. Unfortunately he died in 1848, and was suc- 
ceeded by Tu-Duc. During the reign of this prince, 
famine, cholera, typhus, and other plagues decimated 
his people; and although these trials enabled the 
Christians to show themselves in their true colors, 
and to repay their persecutors by acts of superhuman 
charity, still these calamities were looked on as the 
result of Divine vengeance upon the new sect ; and the 
mandarins, working on the credulity of the people, 
fanned the flame of a new persecution, in which, 
among others, Frs. Schoeffler and Bonnard were sac- 
rificed. A temporary peace followed, and during this 
time of comparative security Theophane Venard ar- 
rived. 

Notwithstanding all the obstacles thrown in the way 
of preaching the Gospel; in spite of the small num- 

118 



Theophane Venard 

bers of Apostolic laborers and the insufficiency of 
their resources; in spite of this furious persecution of 
Minh-Menh, which lasted twenty years, there is no 
country where Christianity has made such wonderful 
progress as in Tonquin. Bishop Retord wrote at this 
very time as follows : — 

"When I undertook to govern this mission, sixteen 
years ago, it did not contain more than a hundred 
thousand Christians. Now there are 140,000, al- 
though the cholera of 185 1 carried ofif 10,000. All 
these converts, with very few exceptions, practise 
their religion in a way that would shame many Euro- 
peans. They are constant attendants at the Sacra- 
ments and most diligent in the performance of their 
religious duties. It is useless to add that they are all 
Catholics. Heretical ministers, with their wives and 
children, have never attempted to approach these in- 
hospitable or unhealthful shores, or to face a persecu- 
tion which can only end in one way — martyrdom." 

Bishop Retord was only fifty years old when Theo- 
phane Venard arrived at Tonquin. He was still 
strong and vigorous, in spite of trials and sufferings. 
He had established a large seminary of native priests, 
which numbered upwards of seventy-five, all well in- 
structed and full of zeal for the conversion of their 
countr^^men. The College, which he had erected close 
to his house, had more than 200 students, divided into 
different classes, as in France; while various smaller 
schools had been established all over the diocese. 
When the students finished their College terms they 
passed an examination as catechists. Before receiving 
his diploma, however, each must have converted at 
least ten Pagans. The theologians are chosen from 

119 



A Modern Martyr 

among the catechists, but are admitted to Holy Orders 
only after a long and rigorous trial. The work of 
God prospers visibly in this land. In the year 1854 
fifteen hundred more souls were added to the Chris- 
tian ranks. Still the number of Pagans was enormous 
though crowded into a small area. 

To return to Theophane Venard. Before his ar- 
rival in Tonquin and during his passage, he had suf- 
fered from an attack of inflammation of the lungs, 
which seemed to get worse every day, in spite of the 
prescriptions of the Chinese physicians. His entire 
recovery can only be attributed to a direct Divine in- 
terposition, and the account of it will be found in the 
following letter to his father, written in March, 

J855:- 

''When I wrote to you last, my dearest father, I 
was with Bishop Retord, at his College of Vinh-Tri. 
At the end of August, the Bishop sent me to a Col- 
lege in the village of Ke-Doan to study the Annamite 
language, and associated with me two catechists, 
who could speak a little Latin. As I had to pass by 
Ke-non, where there is a seminary directed by Bishop 
Jeantet, Bishop Retord's coadjutor, I stayed there 
for eight days. Bishop Jeantet is sixty-three years 
old, and has been thirty-seven years in the mission. 
He is a most venerable man, kind and amiable. He 
was never tired asking me questions about France, 
that country so dear to the missionary's heart. I was 
also very much interested in the seminary, and stam- 
mered some words of Annamite which I had just 
learned. From here I left for the College at Lang- 
Doan. A month in such a study as this went like 

120 



Theophane Venard 

lightning. On the second Sunday in October I ven- 
tured to preach a short sermon in the Httle church. 
The chiefs of the village came to congratulate me, 
not that I believe they could understand much of my 
allocution, but being Annamites, they are very civil 
and courteous; and though I had made such a hash 
of their language, they thought it right to compliment 
me. 

''Some days later I fell sick of a pestilential illness^ 
which declared itself in the College, and I was one of 
its first victims. My catechists nursed me with great 
care and attention, and Bp. Retord, Bp. Jeantet, and 
Fr. Castex, Pro- Vicar-General of the mission, sent 
me all sorts of medicines, which, with the grace of 
God, cured me. As soon as I could stand, I went by 
boat for a change of air to another village named Ke- 
Dam, where an Annamite priest has his principal resi- 
dence. Remark that I went in a boat across the 
fields, because every year at this time there is a flood 
caused by the overflow of the rivers, the result of the 
tropical rains in the western mountains. The whole 
country becomes like one vast sea. The villages 
themselves are all under water and the only means 
of communication is by boats. I found myself well 
enough on All Saints' Day to say a low Mass. The 
evening before all the village gathered around the 
church to congratulate me on my recovery. The 
chiefs, dressed in their best clothes, came to conduct 
me solemnly to church, to the sound of native music 
and repeated hurrahs. You see, dearest father, that 
the Annamites care for their missionaries. But the 
evening of the Feast of All Saints was the reverse 
of the medal. I had hardly gone to bed when they 
came to wake me, and to announce the arrival of a 

121 



A Modern Martyr 

mandarin for a domiciliary visit. They were in a 
great fright and implored me to go on to another vil- 
lage. Though the news was not very certain, I 
thought that I had better comply with their wishes, 
and so packed up my traps as fast as I could. I was 
carried with all my little establishment on men's 
backs in the middle of the night to the said village. 
This was my first nocturnal flight; since then I have 
had many others ! I remained eight days in the house 
of a devout Christian in this place, who seemed as if 
he could not make enough of me; and to show my 
gratitude I made a great distribution of medals and 
rosaries. Then I went on to a College in the little 
town of Hoang-Nguyen, where Fr. Castex has his 
principal residence. Fr. Castex was on a diocesan 
tour and would not return till December. I was, 
therefore, the only European in the College, at the 
head of which was a native priest, an Annamite father. 
Here I began to hear confessions, first the students, 
and then the Christians of the village ; but I made little 
or no progress, because very soon I fell sick again 
with inflammation of the lungs, which endangered 
my life. But I recovered. Fr. Castex returned with 
Fr. Titaud, and then another of our missionaries, Fr. 
Neron, came along, so that we were four altogether. 
You can fancy what a pleasure it was! After some 
days of mutual enjoyment, Fr. Titaud returned to his 
district. Fr. Neron also prepared to go back to his 
College of Vinh-Tri, of which he is the superior; but 
he was taken prisoner in crossing the river and very 
nearly gave us a fresh martyr. By a special provi- 
dence, the soldier, who had hastened to the village to 
get a reinforcement in order to secure our poor 
brother, met the Chief of the Canton, who knew and 

122 



Theophane Venard 

had a great regard for Fr. Neron; so, although a 
Pagan, he connived at his escape and the only loss 
was a sum of money. 

"You want to know more about my health. On 
New Year's day I was so ill that I could hardly re- 
ceive the visits of congratulation from the Christians 
of the district. The bishop sent me his own physician, 
a very clever man, whose medicines did me some 
good, but after his departure I fell ill again. Fn 
Castex took every possible care of me and was ex- 
tremely anxious on my account. I was obliged to give 
up confessing, saying Mass, or Office, even reading 
and writing, and I was scarcely allowed to speak at 
all. At last Fr. Castex advised me to make a novena 
to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and insisted 
on sharing it with me. We began on the day of the 
Purification and at once I felt myself getting better; 
since then all bad symptoms have disappeared and my 
strength has nearly returned. To the Sacred Hearts 
of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph be the praise. 

"About this time the political horizon darkened: a 
revolutionary party broke out in Tonquin ; a new edict, 
emanating from the king, denounced our holy reli- 
gion; evil-disposed persons betrayed to the mandarins 
the residences of the missionaries ; the College of Ke- 
Vinh was broken up; and Bishop Retord, with sev- 
eral of his missionaries, had to keep themselves in 
hiding. The mandarin of Ke-Cho, the capital of Ton- 
quin, laid siege to the Seminary of Ke-Non, but Bp. 
Jeantet had already taken flight to the mountains, 
whence he wrote to Fr. Castex and me: *I have been 
looking up my old haunts, and the caves where I lived 
at the time of the persecution of Minh-Menh,— not 
that it is very easy for an old man like me to scramble 

123 



A Modern Martyr 

up and down rocks and precipices. I sometimes won- 
der how I manage to get on at all.' 

''The mandarin found only an Annamite father and 
a deacon, whom he released soon after, although not 
without the payment of 10,000 francs, but the College 
of Ke-Non is at least still standing. 

''As for Fr. Castex and myself, after having been 
chased from one village to another, we have finally 
taken refuge in a convent near the town of But-Dong, 
w^here we have lived as hermits with two catechists 
for the last two months. Very soon, however, I hope 
we shall be able to show our faces again, as the storm 
seems to have subsided. We must be prudent, how- 
ever, for the denouncer of Bp. Jeantet, having failed 
to catch him, has offered his own head to the mandarin 
if he cannot deliver a European into his hands before 
the end of the year. Every one, therefore, keeps him- 
self on guard. What will happen, God knows ; in any 
case it is better to hope than to fear, and, as Bp. 
Retord writes to us, 'Jesus and Mary will not aban- 
don us now more than they have done before. Pray 
then with great confidence, and do not let us be dis- 
couraged or give way to sadness. If any of us win 
the martyr's palm so much the better. Sicut fuerit 
voluntas tua, sic iiat/'\ 

"The rebellion goes on spreading: it wants to re- 
establish the ancient dynasty on the throne, and the 
revolutionists say that they will soon present the new 
king. On the other hand the misery is very great. 
Last year's rice harvest was bad enough; this year 
in many places it is simply lost: thousands of people 
are dying of hunger. It is enough to move any one 
to compassion. People in Europe have no idea of the 

tBe it done according to Thy will. 
124 



Theophane Venard 

common misery in this unhappy country. The feasts 
of the New Year, which are generally so gay, have 
this season passed in sadness and mourning, and it is 
not probable that the end of the year will be brighter. 
Now, dearest father, I must stop. A Dieu. Do not 
be anxious about me. What God keeps is well kept. 
Stay well; pray for me; and may the joy of our Lord 
Jesus Christ fill your heart for evermore." 



125 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER XI. 

Labors and Trials. 

Up to this time Theophane had not said much of his 
relations with the people. He filled up this void in the 
following letter to his sister: — 

''You say you would like to be a little bird, my dear- 
est sister, and see how I get on with my new children. 
Well, I assure you I begin to love them very much. 
The Annamite people are thoroughly good and their 
respect for the missionaries is very great. Until now 
the state of the country and my small acquaintance 
with the language have prevented my doing much, but 
the principal people of the villages often come to see 
me and bring some little present. I could only say 
a few unintelligible sentences at first, which I saw 
made them very much inclined to laugh; but they 
would not have done so for all the world, they are so 
afraid of hurting my feelings. Very often the peas- 
ants come to pay me a visit: one day it is the father 
of a family who has married ofif one of his children 
and brings me a pig's head killed for the feast; an- 
other day some mother arrives who wishes to recom- 
mend her son just starting for the army ; or, four or 
five poor women will come together to offer me a 
little basket of fruit, or to ask me for a rosary or a 
cross. I could answer only in a few words but every 
one went away pleased and satisfied. It is the custom 

126 



Theophane Venard 

among the Annamites that no one shall present himself 
to a superior without offering a present. If our poor 
Christians ever have any fine fruit, or extra good fish, 
or any vegetable larger than usual, they take the great- 
est delight in coming to offer it to the missionaries. I 
assure you, Melanie, I love the Annamites very much, 
and I thank God every day that He has consecrated 
me to their service. All is not, certainly, colour de 
rose, but there will always be thorns in every path. 

''One word as to these Tonquinese nuns, about 
whom you make such eager inquiries. They are natives 
living in community under the authority of an abbess ; 
they do not take vows and are received very young. 
They work in the fields, prepare the cotton for linen 
cloths, or sell pills, which will astonish you, and prob- 
ably make you laugh ; but it is by this means that they 
gain access to Pagan children who are ill and baptize 
those in danger of death. 

''They live poorly, pray a great deal, give them- 
selves the discipline, and fast far more than ordinary 
Christians. When necessary they act as couriers to 
carry the letters from one mission to another, in which 
capacity they are often invaluable ; there is nothing in 
this occupation which shocks the feelings or customs 
of their country. On such occasions they always go 
in pairs. They are the couriers of different missions, 
often carrying great loads; but they are accustomed 
to toil and fatigue, as all Annamite women are. The 
Christians always call them 'Sisters/ 2ind they are uni- 
versally loved and respected. 

"It is very pleasant to hear the Tonquinese prayers, 
especially when they are said well together; it is a 
harmony which has often touched me more than the 
most beautiful European music. They have some 

127 



A Modern Martyr 

very pretty litanies of Our Lady, especially one of the 
Immaculate Conception. But their acts of thanksgiv- 
ing after Communion are the most touching; when 
I hear them, it moves me almost to tears. The Annam- 
ites do not know how to pray in silence or in a low 
voice; and even if there be only one communicant, 
he intones his thanksgiving aloud, either alone or in 
company with the choir. The catechists sing the plain 
chant very well, and sometimes chant the High Mass ; 
but then there is always a musical accompaniment. 
Their instruments are the violin, harp, drums, fife, and 
cymbals. They have not much variety in their music, 
and during High Mass will play one tune from begin- 
ning to end till one is satiated with it. But after all, 
God is, perhaps, as much praised and glorified by this 
simple, devout congregational music as by the most 
magnificent harmony, executed by first-class artists. 
It is the vibration of the heart, and not of the chords, 
which is acceptable to Him. 

"And my Latin scholars, you ask, are they very 
learned? It is difficult that they should be, not hav- 
ing any dictionaries. At the end of their studies they 
understand the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and 
of late years Bishop Retord has started a class of phil- 
osophy which is conducted in Latin. You may well 
imagine that we do not trouble our heads to teach 
Ovid, Horace, or heathen mythology, to these poor 
Tonquinese, so that the controversy as to the classics 
must be judged by itself." 

In a letter to an old friend about this time we find 
a touching passage showing the simplicity and naivete 
of these poor people in their religious rites: — 

"I am quite sure that the first marriage ceremony 
you performed was widely different from mine. In 

128 



Theophane Venard 

Tonquin there are no marriage processions and no 
bridesmaids, as in France. The married couple re- 
ceive the Sacrament as they do the Blessed Eucharist 
without any further demonstration. Well, my fiances 
having been to confession, and thus prepared them- 
selves for the Sacrament of Marriage, the day was 
fixed; I went very early in the morning, and sang 
Mass for the whole population (they keep early hours 
in Tonquin). Then my catechist made a signal to 
the young couple — each was about eighteen years of 
age — to go up to the altar. The young girl mounted 
the steps; but where was her betrothed? He never 
appeared. After waiting some time in vain, the poor 
child was quietly told to go back, and come again 
at the same time to-morrow. Resigned and gentle, 
she obeyed. The next day the future husband duly 
made his appearance at the proper moment, and I 
blessed the marriage. In the course of the day the 
young couple, conducted by the sister of the bride, 
came to pay me a visit, and to thank me. I ventured 
to ask why the young gentleman had not made his 
appearance the first day? He answered, with perfect 
simplicity, that *he did not wake in time !' " 

We cannot better describe the people and the life 
of the young missionary, than by his letters, which are 
graphic pictures of his daily trials and their consola- 
tions. In September, 1855, Theophane wrote again to 
his family: — 

*T hope that my last letters, writen in March, have 
reached you ? Since then it has pleased God to throw 
me again on a bed of sickness. On Ash- Wednesday 
I went to Father Castex, Vicar-General of the mission, 
who was at the College of Hoang-Nguyen. The road 

129 



A Modern Martyr 

was not more than a quarter of a league but was full 
of mud and water. I took a violent chill and fever, 
and from that moment I got worse and worse. I was 
also obliged to flee by night several times from the 
mandarins, and hide in the rice-fields, which did not 
mend matters. The people around me thought the 
end was at hand, and prepared everything for my 
funeral. But God sent me a doctor, who gave me 
some new sort of medicine, which brought me to life 
again. I received Extreme Unction twice, and each 
time God was pleased, in strengthening my soul, to 
restore my body. I am now staying at Ke-Vinh with 
Bp. Retord, who hopes to complete my cure; but I 
am afraid it will be difficult as my left lung is almost 
gone. I have terrible perspirations and an oppression 
on my chest; in the morning I sometimes have such 
violent expectoration and running at the nose that I 
cannot say Mass. On the other hand my appetite is 
good, so that I can go on with my little studies. Do not 
let my illness make you unhappy, my dearly-loved 
people! but pray for me, that the sufferings of my 
body may be for the spiritual welfare of my soul. . . ** 

In this September letter he alludes as follows to 
the persecutions which, he said, ^'threatened to be ter- 
rible; but thank God! they have not realized our 
worst apprehensions. Our purses have suffered most ; 
for one could close the mandarins' mouths only by 
bars of silver. Our poor missions have indeed been 
bled to satisfy Pagan rapacity. These poor Annam- 
ites are always the victims of some misfortune or some 
act of oppression. One year an inundation comes ; the 
next, a drought. The harvest almost always fails. A 
bowl of rice is all that these poor 'people want, and 

130 




THE VENARD HOME AT ST. LOUP. 

Where the Martyr was born. 



Theophane Venard 

even this much they cannot always obtain. Yet these 
rapacious gentlemen, the mandarins, who are nomi- 
nally their fathers and protectors, think of nothing but 
pillage and robbery, and to suck the wealth out of 
these unhappy people like so many leeches. I really 
believe there is no such thing as an honest man among 
the mandarins. The Christians are a capital bank for 
them; their religion, being proscribed by the king, it 
is the easiest thing in the world to accuse them at any 
moment of 'treason and rebellion against the state.* 
From the village mayors up to the mandarin govern- 
ors of the provinces, every man will have his share in 
the plunder. In a village which is half Christian and 
half Pagan, the Christians pay a heavy ransom to have 

liberty of conscience This year we have had 

no martyrdom. I have heard only of a doctor and his 
two brothers, who were thrown into prison by the 
mandarin and who are still in captivity. I know this 
physician; he is a most fervent and excellent man,, 
and has already been a Confessor for the Faith in the 
Minh-Menh persecution. Thanks to the interposition 
of a friendly mandarin at court, Bp. Retord has been 
able to return to his College; and Bp. Jeantet has 
also gone back to his seminary. So after the storm 
comes the calm, and God protects His own. Since 
January I have not had a line from any of you and 
am getting rather anxious for tidings. May God and 
His Holy Mother preserve you, my dearest father, 
and sister, and brothers, from all evil, now and for 
evermore !" 

A little later, he writes. — 

"I am dying out like a candle, and holding to life by 
a mere thread. I think the doctors have given me up 

131 



A Modern Martyr 

but I can still rejoice in whatever God appoints. Per- 
haps this is the last note you will receive from me. 
Pray for me, that, though my poor body perishes from 
day to day, my soul may be saved through His merits 
Who died for me. We shall meet one another in a 
brighter and better home. A Dieu!" 

On the 1st of December, he wrote again to his 
sister, saying that he had recovered his strength ; that 
his left side was much better; and that she must join 
with him in thanking and praising God for having so 
unexpectedly restored him to health. He continues, — 

"We are in a period of comparative peace, so that 
our schools are re-opened. The bishop can officiate 
pontifically on festivals; and we may go, in the day- 
time), to walk in the College gardens — a favor of 
which you would understand the magnitude better if 
you had been confined, like us, for so long a time in 
one room without daring either to sing or speak above 
a whisper. Lately the Government has been put in a 
state of excitement by the appearance of an English 
man-of-war at Touranne, which is close to the capital 
of the kingdom in Cochin-China. I believe that the 
Governor-General of Hong Kong and the Plenipoten- 
tiaries of Queen Victoria came to propose a treaty of 
commerce to Tu-Duc, the Annamite king. However, 
this ^gracious sovereign' would not receive the des- 
patches; so that the English had to retire without 
doing anything. But the consequences have been 
rather disastrous for us, as they choose to fancy that 
we sent for the English. We have had no news from 
liome for more than a year. I try to be patient but 
each courier who arrives and brings no letters is a 
fresh mortification. Pray for me, that I may strive to 

132 



Theophane Venard 

live above all these feelings and become a more 
worthy priest of Jesus Christ ; so that in the difficult 
post which I now occupy, I may have the necessary 
grace and prudence. As for me, I never cease to pray 
for you all. Remember your poor little Theophane!'" 

At this time the Crimean war and the proclamation 
of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception occupied 
the minds of men of every class in Europe. Although 
sixteen months had elapsed since Theophane had re- 
ceived any letters from home, yet the news of these 
two great events reached our missionaries and re- 
joiced their sad hearts. Theophane wrote to express 
his joy to his sister, and adds, — 

''Since my last letter the persecution has been re- 
newed and one of our native priests, Huong, has been 
martyred. This did not prevent Bp. Retord from 
preaching his Lenten missions, and, thanks to Our 
Lady's protection, we have not had to take many more 
precautions than usual. As far as I am concerned, I 
had the pleasure of accompanying his Grace in one of 
his diocesan tours, where the work was arduous and 
incessant. He celebrated the Offices of Holy Week and 
Easter at Ke-Vinh before an immense congregation, 
and everything passed off well, and in comparative 
peace, if such word can be applied to people in our 
position. You will perhaps wonder how, being con- 
tinually on the 'qui vive' and in hiding, with a price 
put upon our heads, we can think of keeping feasts and 
talk of peace. But it seems as if a special protection 
of God and the Blessed Virgin rested upon us, so 
that we may 'serve Him without fear.' Besides, when 
we do get a little liberty, you must set it against the 
continual vexations and constraints to which we are 
generally subject. We are like rats coming out for a 

133 



A Modern Martyr 

little bite, regardless of the cat, and hastening to re- 
gain our holes on the first alarm or sound of danger." 

At last, after a nineteen months' fast, the poor mis- 
sionaries received their letters from home. Theo- 
phane then wrote, — 

''On the Feast of St. Peter, Bp. Retord called in all 
his missionaries and his coadjutor, Bp. Jeantet, to 
meet him at the College of Ke-Vinh. We made a 
retreat in common, and passed- fifteen days in the 
most perfect calm and peace, in spite of the emissaries 
of the mandarins who were spying in the neighbour- 
hood. We sang heaps of French songs and enjoyed 
ourselves thoroughly. Just before we parted, a 
courier arrived from Cochin-China, bringing news 
from Europe of the allies' success, the proclamation 
of peace, the birth of the Prince Imperial, and the 
rejoicings of the people at the new dogma. We also 
were told of the embassy sent by the Emperor to nego- 
tiate with the Annamite king, so as to stop the perseuc- 
tion of Christians, and especially of the French mis- 
sionaries, whose blood their king, a worthy successor 
of his father, has so cruelly shed. We were about to 
disperse to our respective missions, and had already 
taken leave of one another, when a tremendous inun- 
dation came, worse than any in the memory of the 
oldest inhabitant, and it compelled us to stay where 
we were. The flood lasted a whole month and the 
waters covered four large provinces, besides break- 
ing down the dykes in many places. The newly-sown 
rice was completely lost ; that which was almost ready 
for the harvest w^as submerged, and the greater por- 
tion rotted; many villages have been destroyed, and 
thousands of persons drowned, or killed by the falling 

134 



Theophane Venard 

of the mud walls of their houses. Many took refuge 
in the mountains; others huddled close to the dykes 
which had resisted the rush of waters, and remained 
there without food for days; others, again, like our- 
selves were kept close prisoners in their houses, 
obliged to battle with the ever-rising flood. Often it 
was necessary to take up the flooring, and make a 
temporary standing-ground in the upper story, or close 
under the roof, which had to be pierced to give air. 
In the villages where inundations are an annual oc- 
currence, they have a system of boats, which are kept 
ready in case of need, but in other places you can im- 
agine the misery! Besides, their gardens are all de- 
stroyed, their trees killed, and their cattle and domes- 
tic animals drowned. As for ourselves, the students 
of the College, by working day and night, contrived 
to build a dyke sufficiently strong to protect the church 
and our place of refuge, but the bishop's house was 
full of water. In the midst of this I fell sick of a 
violent fever with an attack of asthma, and it was in 
one of the worst fits that your letter was brought to 
me and acted like the dew on the parched ground. 
Don't fancy that this is a figure of speech. I do as- 
sure you it is a fact that the sight of your handwriting, 
and the joy that I felt, reacted on my whole system, 
and the fever was sensibly diminished. However, just 
as I was beginning to rejoice in a kind of convales- 
cence, I caught typhiod fever, which again brought 
me to the very gates of death. Bp. Retord and my 
fellow-missionaries said Masses for me to St. Peter of 
Alcantara (to whom, St. Theresa says, our Lord re- 
fuses nothing), and I got better from that time. The 
end of all this succession of fevers is, that although I 
am about again, I am still very weak ; but as my appe- 

135 



A Modern Martyr 

tite has returned I hope soon to be able to work. My 
left side no longer gives me so much pain; and as 
God has preserved me until now, I hope that He will 
do so to the end, and enable me to do something for 
His glory before I die/' 

After receiving these letters, his family naturally 
feared that the following courier would bring the news 
of his death. Their surprise and joy' were therefore 
very great at the contents of a letter, dated June, 1857, 
in which he says, "At the end of the year 1856 every 
one thought I was dying, so I took the advice of Bp» 
Retord, and consented to try a Chinese remedy, which 
is used only in extreme cases, and is called, in Annam- 
ite, 'Phep-Quenou,' In Europe it would be consid- 
ered a species of cauterization. It consists in applying 
little burning balls of a certain herb, something like 
absinthe, to different parts of the body. There are, the 
Chinese doctors say, 360 points in the human body 
which may thus be burnt. The difficulty is to know 
which is the right spot ; otherwise, you may be lamed, 
or become blind, or have your mouth drawn to one 
side, &c., &c. Having submitted to this operation, 
they burnt me in 500 different places, about 200 of 
which were near the lungs. At the end of a few days 
these cauterizations, or inoculations, produced a little 
yellow pustule full of matter; this is a sign that the 
operation has been successful, as the system is sup- 
posed thus to reject all that is noxious. The result 
has been that I am wonderfully better, and my pa- 
tience in enduring this small purgatory for several 
hours has been rewarded. But enough of my wretched 
ailings, for to be sick is natural to me ; and Bp. Retord 
declares that I have chosen sufferings for my specialty. 

136 



Theophane Venard 

I would rather talk to you about the state of our poor 
mission. We were at Ke-Vinh in February, when one 
Monday, at eight o'clock, one of the villagers came in 
hot haste to tell us that the mandarin of the southern 
province had surrounded the village and was coming 
to seize us. Bp. Retord was forced by the students 
into a subterranean hiding-place; Father Charbonnier 
and I were stuflfed into a place between two walls, 
where we remained for four hours without seeing the 
light of day. At the end of this time, they came to 
announce to us that the domiciliary visit was over, 
and the mandarin gone; but that he had carried off 
with him the director of the College (a venerable 
priest named Tinh), one of the catechists, and the 
mayor of the place. The truth was, that in the neigh- 
boring province certain Christians had been forced 
by blows to reveal the bishop's residence ; and a poor 
woman, who was the bearer of some European letters 
to one of our missionaries, was seized, and, being put 
to the torture, she confessed in her agony, that they 
were destined for the College of Ke-Vinh. But this 
was only the beginning of a series of misfortunes. In 
March the mandarin returned with 200 soldiers to de- 
stroy both the Church and the College; but we had 
received warning in time, and had all taken refuge in 
the mountains. The next day we returned to find 
everything in ruins, and as we were surrounded by 
spies, it was thought best to leave the place for a time. 
I went by night, secretly, in a boat, to my old quarters 
at Hoang-Nghuyen, while Bp. Retord and Father 
Charbonnier returned to their hiding-places in the 
mountains. Fr, Castex and Fr. Theurel, the superior 
of the College, were at Hoang when I arrived; but 
the former was soon seized with rheumatic fever, and 

137 



A Modern Martyr 

became dangerously ill. Bp. Retord, hearing of this, 
came down from the hills to jadminister the last con- 
solations to our dear friend and brother, who expired 
on the eve of Trinity, after great sufferings. His death 
was, however, perfectly peaceful, and he slept the 
sleep of the just. To me, who had lived in great inti- 
macy with him for two years, the loss is very great, 
and I have scarcely courage to face the future. Bp. 
Retord has given me his post, for which I feel utterly 
unworthy. May I only imitate the holiness of my 
predecessor, and win as many souls for our dear Mas- 
ter! 

Our good old priest Tinh, of whom I spoke as 
having been carried off by the persecutor, made a glo- 
rious confession of faith, and was instantly beheaded, 
the Christians having no time to help him in his last 
moments. But he was one who kept his lamp always 
burning. The sword of the executioner broke in halves 
during the operation. The mandarins thought this a 
bad omen, and in consequence offered pagan sacrifices 
to appease the dead ancestors of the victim. Poor 
Tinh's three companions, having also generously con- 
fessed the faith, were condemned to perpetual ban- 
ishment to a distant unhealthful mountain. A few 
months later, a pagan prefect, having taken a spite 
against Bp. Diaz, a Dominican, denounced him to the 
mandarins, and his Lordship was seized at his resi- 
dence in the village of Biu-Chu, and dragged to the 
prefecture, where he is now imprisoned and rigorously 
guarded. We expect every day to hear that he has 
been condemned to death. The great mandarin has 
a special hatred for all Christians just now, and has 
placed crosses at the gates of the town, so that every 
one going out- or coming in shall trample them under 

138 



Theophane Venard 

foot. The unhappy Christians have been subject to 
domiciUary visits day and night. Fortunately, how- 
ever, they were warned in time, and the greater num- 
ber have taken flight. In Cochin-China the state of 
things is still worse. I told you, in a previous letter, 
that the Emperor was going to send a plenipotentiary 
to plead the cause of the Christians with the Annam- 
ites. 

Well, M. de Montigny arrived in due time, but 
with only two little steamers and a small warship, and 
with no real powers to treat. So the king refused to 
hear them and the Frenchmen had to weigh anchor 
and go. The people, Christians and pagans, who had 
been rejoicinng at the prospect of being delivered 
from the tyrants, seeing the complete failure, were not 
only thoroughly discouraged, but began to despise 
a power which could do nothing, and this shame has 
fallen heavily on us poor missionaries. If France 
meddles at all, she ought to do it thoroughly, so as 
to carry her point. Still, all hope is not gone, as the 
Chinese war has brought a large fleet into these 
waters. M. de Montigny, unable to help us as he 
wished, threatened the king with the account which 
he would have to render for the French blood shed in 
his dominions. The king, seeing the interest which 
M. de Montigny took in the Christian missionaries, 
imagined that we had sent for him; so that when M. 
de Montigny went away, he left us in the claws of 
a tiger more than ever irritated against us. In conse- 
quence, they seized a Christian mandarin with thirty 
of his neophytes, and after having made them suffer 
horrible tortures, condemned them to be beheaded. 
Then the poor mandarin was dragged through all the 
streets of the capital, and at each corner his sentence 

139 



A Modern Martyr 

was read out, while he received thirty blows with a 
stick. This sentence was full of blasphemies against 
our Lord such as these: *The Christians pretend that 
those who suffer tortures are sure of Paradise after 
their death. Who knows that? Fools that they are! 
If it were so, why does not their Jesus come and de- 
liver them?' Oh, my Lord! Thou hast heard their 
words, and wilt remember them. Yes, I have a firm 
conviction that Thou wilt aid us and avenge Thy 
name !'' 

After the death of Fr. Castex, as we have said, Fr. 
Venard remained at the College of Hoang-Nghuyen, 
where he had the joy of being once more with his 
great friend, Fr. Theurel. But the difficulty of carry- 
ing on the work of the missions, owing to the violence 
of the persecution, weighed heavily on his mind. ''I 
sometimes ask myself,'' he writes, 'Ts God's grace no 
longer so effective as before ? Has the time passed for 
the conversion of the Gentiles? Or are we poor mis- 
sionaries less zealous than our predecessors? It is 
quite heart-breaking to look around and to see nothing 
but heathen pagodas, to hear nothing but the bells of 
the bonzes, to witness only diabolical processions! 
Our dear Lord has to bow before the ministers of 
Buddha and Confucius. His missionaries live in holes 
and caverns and a price is put upon their heads. Is 
not the day of their deliverance at hand ? In this An- 
namite kingdom the penal laws are most cruel and 
rigid, but they are only half carried out, on account 
of the greed of mandarins, who simply use them as a 
means to extort money. If at least one might buy 
peace with the money! But no; this half and half 
persecution undoes every thing. One day you build 
a church, open a school, establish a college. The next 

140 



Theophane Venard 

week perhaps you have to flee, and your works are all 
destroyed. Another time you pay a large sum to a 
mandarin to be left in peace. Then he goes out of 
office, and another comes, who perhaps asks double 
the price, which it is impossible to raise ; and the edi- 
fice you have reared with such pains and labor crum- 
bles away ! As for me, I have no hope but in God and 
in His immaculate Mother, whose Conception has just 
been so gloriously proclaimed. Under the yoke of the 
oppressor, we are like the Jewish captives, 'Super iiii- 
mina Bahylonisf But I look on this proclamation as a 
rainbow, which is to announce to us the end of the 
storm.'' 

In September, 1857, he wrote again to his sister, — 

''My Dearest Sister, — You will have seen by my 
last letter that my health was improved, and that Bp. 
Retord had given me a new district. I have upwards 
of twelve thousand Christians here, divided into four 
large parishes, with six or seven native priests under 
me. My duty is to go from parish to parish, seeing 
that all is in good order ; establish peace if there should 
be discord, give the necessary dispensations ; confirm, 
in cases where the Bishop or Vicar-Apostolic cannot 
come to perform that sacramental function; give re- 
treats and missions; in fact, strive to augment in all 
hearts the love of God and the zeal for His Church. 
As to the Pagans, I have never counted them, but 
there must be from 250,000 to 300,000. It needs ten 
St. Francis Xaviers to bring all these people to the 
knowledge of the Gospel. At this moment it is diffi- 
cult for us to do much in the way of conversion on 
account of the violence of the persecution. Still from 
time to time souls are garnered. When the children 

141 



A Modern Martyr 

are ill the mothers bring them for baptism. The other 
day a young widow brought her little one who was 
dying. She herself was in the greatest misery having 
eaten only five times in twelve days. I baptized her 
child, and then entrusted her to the care of one of our 
Christian women, who is now preparing the mother 
likewise for that holy sacrament. 

After the Feast of the Assumption I went to a dis- 
trict almost entirely Pagan. Only about two hundred 
Christians were scattered here and there. It was close 
to the residence of the mandarin. No European had 
ever penetrated so far into the interior; so I had to 
keep myself as hidden as I possibly could. But the chil- 
dren whom I had confirmed unintentionally betrayed 
me, by chattering, and saying, that 'a little European 
has come into the village, very small, but very white 
and pretty;' for you must know, my dear little sister, 
that we poor Europeans pass for great beauties, and 
one who is considered dark in France appears white 
among these people, who are burnt a mahogany color 
by the tropical sun. Well, what was to be done? The 
hare was started and the dogs on the scent ! I resolved 
not to lose courage ; but putting my whole trust in God 
I worked day and night in this His neglected vineyard 
during one whole week; while the Christians, who 
were in a terrible fright, acted as sentinels, and re- 
fused all visitors whose curiosity prompted them to 
wish to have a look at the European. Having finished 
my work, I departed secretly by night, favored by 
the darkness, and came to another place, where the 
villagers, amounting to 4000 or 5000 souls, were all 
Christians, and the neighbourhood, though pagan, was 
favorable to Christianity. 

My goings and coming are easy at this season of 

142 



Theophane Venard 

the year, as the inundations last for four or five 
months. The country becomes an immense sea in 
which float green villages. There are no roads. 
Every one goes in boats; but fortunately there are 
plenty of these in all shapes and sizes. I have one 
which holds just one person. It is very light, and 
woven of bamboo; every evening, sitting like a 
tailor in my little skiff, I paddle myself along to my 
different penitents, often meeting one or the other on 
the way, and then having races to see who shall be 
the quickest, in which manoeuvre I need not say that 
your poor brother is always beaten. I make a point 
of visiting my flock in their own homes, which gives 
them immense pleasure. In fact, it is impossible to 
find a better-disposed people than these poor Annam- 
ites, or to meet more fervent or pious souls. This year 
(and last) the inundations have been extraordinary, 
and more than a foot of water came into my house. 
I had fishes, frogs and toads, crabs and serpents, 
swimming about my room very happily, being perched 
myself on some planks about three or four inches 
above them. But what I disliked most was that the 
rats insisted on taking refuge on my mat, and one 
night I squashed one while I was asleep. It was a 
disagreeable discovery, but on waking, I found a 
poisonous viper, with black and white stripes, which 
had likewise coiled itself up on my poor bed, as if to 
ask for hospitality, and was hissing just as I stretched 
my toes. So I forgave the rat. However, I deter- 
mined, under the circumstances, to raise my house. I 
got the Christians to bring me a quantity of earth, and 
then to lift up my house four or five feet. For you 
must know that this house, like all the rest, consists 
only of two or three wooden columns, interlaced with 

143 



A Modern Martyr 

bamboo trellice, outside of which is a thin plaster of 
mud, which again is covered with a coating of Hme, 
that is supposed to look 'grand.' The height is never 
more than ten or fifteen feet, and the roof is made of 
dry leaves. The whole edifice is easy enough to trans- 
port, as it is very light, and a man can lift it in his hand. 
So now I am high and dry, and away from the water. I 
have actually made a little garden, with flower seeds 
from Europe, and I have a rose tree, a honeysuckle, 
some balsams, and some stocks. Don't you think that 
I was very persevering? But now, my darling little 
Melanie, don't go and imagine, in your foolish, loving 
sister's heart, that I am a great saint. I am not even 
a little wee one! Sickness has weakened my poor 
body, and stupefied my senses, and cooled my ardour. 
You see I own all my spiritual miseries to you so that 
you may pity and pray for me. My heart is as cold 
and icy sometimes as the tropical sun is burning and 
hot. There are no beautiful churches or services here 
to rouse one's tepidity, and to drop a little dew of 
piety on one's frigid soul. Pray then for me, dearest 
sister, that the heavenly dew may descend and soften 
your brother's heart; that his interior life may be 
strengthened, and his prayers become more fervent, 
and the spirit of sacrifice more entire ; so that he who 
bears the great title of missionary may do works 
worthy of the name. Ask also that God may give me 
a little more health and strength, for you know how 
the body reacts on the soul; and if the laborer stum- 
bles in tracing the furrow, it will be crooked and only 
half done. Beg the Author of all Good for these gifts 
which I so greatly need, that His work may be better 
done, and His name be glorified. 

"You ask me if I should not like some object of de- 

144 



Theophane Venard 

votion, or something for my church. If you could 
manage to make me a chasuble I should be most 
grateful, and my catechists would be delighted. Only 
yesterday they said to me, 'Oh, father, do write to 
France, and get a prettier set of vestments for Mass 
on Feast Days.' 

''And now, dearest sister, God bless and keep you 
and all near and dear to us. I recommend myself 
especially to the prayers of all who care for your un- 
worthy brother, 

Theophane.'' 



145 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER XII. 

Under Fire. 

The letters written by Theophane Venard in May, 
1858, did not reach their destination, and to follow the 
course of events preceding his martyrdom, we must 
have recourse to the report of Bp. Retord. 

''Our position,'' the Bishop wrote at this time, "is 
terrible. We are like birds on the branch of a tree, 
always on the alert, always receiving messages saying 
that we have been discovered by the spies, that we have 
been denounced, that the mandarins are surrounding 
our mission, and that such and such Christians have 
been pillaged, tortured, and put to death on our ac- 
count. To try and spare them, we hide in our little 
boats, or in caverns, or in tombs in the mountains, 
where we run the risk of being buried alive. One day 
we had to remain in one of these tombs for eight 
hours, being able to breathe only through a bamboo 
tube. When we came out we were all like idiots, and 
only half conscious. But the bodily pains we endure 
are nothing to the anguish of our souls, lest any neo- 
phytes should deny their faith under torture. The 
searchings of the mandarins are so thorough, that it 
is almost impossible to escape. One of our native 
priests was seized last week and thrown into prison, 
from which he was released only by martyrdom. His 
companions and scholars, who had been arrested at 
the same time, were condemned to perpetual exile. 

146 




BISHOP THEUREL, OF TONQUIN, 

Confessor of the Faith. 



Theophane Venard 

Among them was a little child ten years old who, 
rather than renounce Jesus Christ, bore the strokes of 
the bastinado, and the separation from his parents and 
home, and was sentenced to wear till death the male- 
factor's chain. Another priest and a catechist were 
arrested the next day, and gained the martyr's palm. 
Two new edicts fulminated against us have greatly 
kindled the zeal and fury of the Pagan governors. 
Our chapels are destroyed, our houses demolished, 
our scholars dispersed, and our money wasted in vain 
attempts to redeem our converts. There is not one of 
my poor missionaries who has not his personal 
troubles besides. Frs. Theurel and Venard, sur- 
rounded by their trembling, weeping flock, have been 
obliged to take refuge in subterranean caverns, where 
the mandarins as yet have been unable to follow them. 
Fr. Titaud saw his church and house destroyed before 
his eyes, and hid himself with difficulty in a wild soli- 
tude, exposed to the attacks of all kinds of venomous 
creatures. The same has happened to Fr. Saiget. Fr. 
Mathevon, hard pressed, nearly fell into the hands of 
the enemy, who had already seized his catechist and 
his guide. It suddenly occurred to him to throw him- 
self between two or three old mats and he thus es- 
caped detection. Bp. Jeantet has had to stop his theo- 
logical class, and hide in the mountains; God knows 
when he will be able to return to his post. Even Fr. 
Charbonnier and I, who hoped to have escaped the 
storm in my little retreat of Vinh-Tri, have had to 
seek shelter (which men denied us) of the bears and 
tigers who have their holes in the rocks. Frs. Galy 
and Neron, who are at the extremity of the mission, 
have enjoyed a certain immunity until now, but I ex- 
pect every day to hear of fresh disasters." 

147 



A Modern Martyr 

Then follows a recital of the tortures to which the 
Christians were exposed, to compel them to aposta- 
tize. We give a brief resume of these. 

The most ordinary torture is the ''cangue." It is 
a species of ladder, four or five feet long, and varying 
in weight from ten to forty pounds, the two sides of 
which are united at a width of six inches by four iron 
bars. The head of the martyr is passed through the 
middle bars, and the two heavy sides rest on the shoul- 
der. To bear this day and night is absolute misery. 
The flesh of the neck and shoulders becomes raw ; and 
when the inhuman jailers drag the sufferers from 
side to side, the agony may be imagined. 

In the prison itself, which is a species of hell upon 
earth, a fresh torture is resorted to. This is a kind 
of stocks, in which the feet are caught just above the 
ankle; very often these are too tight, and enter the 
flesh. What makes the stocks more insupportable is 
the fact that innumerable bugs live in the cracks of 
the wood, and constantly suck the blood of the vic- 
tims. These stocks being immovable, the unhappy 
prisoners are compelled to remain in the same position 
day and night, either sitting or crouching, without 
being able to move in the least. 

The third torture, and one universally employed, is 
the "rotin" or knout, which is inflicted most brutally. 
Several victims are laid flat on their stomachs in rows, 
one after the other, the feet of one being fastened to 
the hands of the the next, and all so stretched as al- 
most to dislocate their joints. Each blow inflicted 
produces blood, and gives an involuntary start to all 
like an electric shock, so that those who are not 
struck suffer nearly as much as those who are ; and as 
a certain interval is left between each stroke, the 

148 



Theophane Venard 

torment lasts for several hours, each sufferer receiv- 
ing fifty or sixty blows. The instrument used for this 
horrible flagellation is a flexible whip, about the 
thickness of one's little finger, and nearly four feet 
long. The lash is split into four bits, firmly tied with 
twine steeped in gum, which renders the blow heavier 
and prevents it being softened in striking. 

After the flagellation come the pincers, either cold 
or heated in a forge, the bellows of which are always 
going, so that the pincers may be red hot. A portion 
of the martyr's flesh is seized with the iron, then 
dragged and torn off with a rapid twist of the pincers, 
while the victim is tightly bound to the ground. This 
operation is renewed on the same individual five or 
six times. The agony inflicted by the pincers when 
cold is the more intense, but the wound is more easily 
liealed; whereas that produced by the red hot pincers 
is very dangerous, the flesh around the burn gener- 
ally festering, and the whole process apparently pois- 
oning the blood; but it is less painful, because the 
burning deadens the nerves. 

A fifth torture consists in forcing the confessor to 
Icneel on a piece of wood full of pointed nails, the 
sharp points of which pierce the flesh and penetrate to 
the bone. The unhappy victim sighs pitifully during 
this protracted torture, while the mandarins laugh at 
Tiis contortions, and add to his agonies by their fear- 
ful blasphemies against our Lord. 

If the martyr has survived the infliction of all these 
Tiorrors, the persecutors try a sixth method of tor- 
ture, which consists of dragging him by his "cangue" 
to the cross, while they scourge him, striving to com- 
pel him to trample it under his feet. If his lips still 
move in prayer, the executioners strike him on the 

149 



A Modern Martyr 

mouth, and offer insult in the most disgusting man- 
ner to the object of his veneration. 

Then the unhappy victims are again thrown into 
prison, heavily ironed, and separated one from the 
other. The chains which they wear are of three pieces, 
one being fastened around the neck by a large ring, 
the other two around the ankles by smaller rings, sold- 
ered to prevent the possibility of their being undone. 
These chains weigh five or six pounds. If the chain 
is too long the prisoner must hold it in his hand to be 
able to walk. If too short, his back is constantly bent. 
After tortures like these, it is not surprising if the 
courage of the Christians should sometimes, though 
very seldom, fail, and these occasional apostasies add 
to the sorrow of the missionary, whose whole moral 
nature has been agonized by the sight of such suffer- 
ings. 

Bp. Retord declared that his sadness was in- 
tense, and that only the special grace of God could 
enable him to bear such misery. From Easter Day, 
1858, nothing but misfortunes overwhelmed his dio- 
cese, and he gives a short summary of them in a let- 
ter to Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, who had written 
to ask him for some account of the state of things. 
After a graphic picture of the persecution, the Bishop 
adds, "And now you ask what has become of us poor 
missionaries, Apostles in a field once so fertile, now 
so desolate and abandoned? I can hardly tell you. 
It is more than six months since I have received news 
of Fr. Neron, and I do not know where he is, or if 
he still lives. Fr. Galy started on an Annamite mer- 
chant-ship to implore the aid of the Spaniards in 
Manilla; but what has become of him I do not know. 
I fear that he may have been assassinated at sea like 

150 



Theophane Venard 

Fr. Salgot. Frs. Titaud, Theurel, and Venard, find- 
ing themselves surrounded by the enemy in their Httle 
bamboo huts, escaped by night and took to the moun- 
tains. It is more than two months since I have had 
any tidings of them. Bp. Jeantet, after wandering 
about in the hills for a long time, took refuge with 
some faithful peasants; and being obliged to escape 
in the night, was nearly drowned crossing a river. 

I have no news whatever of Fr. Saiget. As for Frs. 
Charbonnier, Mathevon, and myself, who were at 
But-Son since the 13th of June, we have been living 
as we could; one day in a peasant's cabin, the next 
under the trees, or in the bushes, scrambling over im- 
passable roads, exposed to a burning sun or torrents 
of rain; half dead with hunger, with scarcely any 
clothes to cover us, overwhelmed with fatigue and 
sorrow, not knowing from one hour to another what 
is to become of us, or where to lay our heads. In- 
deed, our tribulations have been incredible, and al- 
most unbearable. For more than four months we 
have been unable to say Mass, having no vestments or 
altar, and no cabin where we can be quiet or in safety 
for half an hour. Hardly any of our native priests 
can say Mass either; and what is worse, the sick die 
without receiving the last Sacraments. Every thing is 
destroyed or burnt; all are scattered, everyone is in 
hiding, hardly anyone knows where I am, for I have 
no one to whom I can entrust a letter; and the com- 
munications from others to me are lost, as the people, 
afraid of being compromised, generally burn them. 
We are, in fact, reduced to the last extremity." 

This sad letter was written in October, 1858. In 
December Fr. Venard continued the recital in a long 

151 



A Modern Martyr 

letter to his youngest brother, which we will transcribe 
literally. 

''My dearest Eusebius, — I received in October last 
your letters and those of all my dear family of 1857 
and 1858. You may fancy the joy they gave me. I 
wish I could, in reply, give you any consoling intelli- 
gence, but, alas ! nothing but misery, tears, and agony 
have flooded this unhappy Annamite mission for the 
last nine months. I wrote you in May, 1858, that 
the mandarins of Nam-Dinh had vented their satanic 
rage against the Christians by inflicting unheard-of 
tortures, and that they had published a fresh edict 
against us more bloody than any that had preceded it. 
At that time the district inhabited by Fr. Theurel and 
myself was comparatively quiet ; but the seizure by the 
mandarins of some letters, which we had written to 
the Christians of Nam-Dinh, was the signal for the 
outburst of a more violent persecution than any we 
had before experienced. The bearer of our letters 
was put to the torture, and in his agonies disclosed 
everything, betraying the sites of Bp. Retord's new 
colleges of Vinh-Tri, Ke-Non, and Hoang-Nghuyen. 
At the same time, the devil entered the heart of one 
of our disciples, who, like another Judas, revealed to 
the mandarins not only the interior organization of the 
diocese, but all our hiding-places and our means of 
escape from persecutors. Fr. Theurel and I, though 
very anxious, flattered ourselves that, by being per- 
fectly quiet, we might remain where we were; but the 
spies were too well informed. 

"On the loth of June, in the middle of the night, 
a Christian woke us hurriedly, to say that the troops 
were marching to surround our house and make us 

152 



Theophane Venard 

prisoners. It was necessary to pack our traps and 
flee. This was no easy matter. We were two Euro- 
peans, three Annamite fathers, ten or fifteen cate- 
chists, more than a hundred students, and we had all 
the mission furniture besides, which was to be put 
in some place of safety. But our Annamites are so 
accustomed to these sudden flights, that in a couple 
of hours every thing was hidden in different corners. 
On the morning of St. Barnabas' Day, the man- 
darin's troops arrived to the number of 2000, while 
upwards of 1500 young pagans of the neighbour- 
hood were told off to watch all avenues to the col- 
lege. In a few minutes they had surrounded not 
only the college itself, but three villages, the in- 
habitants of which were nearly all Christians. They 
thought themselves sure of their prey. Happily, we 
had been warned in time, and had placed our poor 
students in distant villages; there were only two who 
had delayed their departure and these were caught in 
the very act of escaping; they were instantly hon- 
oured with a 'cangue.' The soldiers had been prom- 
ised a rich plunder but found nothing, only bare walls 
and houses which looked as if they had been aban- 
doned for ages. In their rage they scattered all over 
the surrounding country, and came upon a village 
where the greater part of our students had taken 
refuge. These would have been certainly seized, if 
they had not received an early intimation of their 
danger. There were only about ten laggards, whom 
the soldiers caught as they were fleeing across the 
fields, and whom they tortured like the rest. Among 
these was an old deacon more than seventy years old. 
The mandarins, being unable to discover catechists, 
priests, or students in the first four villages, carried 

153 



A Modern Martyr 

off our poor old porter, a blind man, whorn we em- 
ployed to pick rice, and a poor old woman (with her 
daughter) who had the care of the church. The 
houses of the principal Christians were spared, owing 
to the intervention of the colonel and the sub-prefect, 
who were friendly towards us. 

"Well, the mandarins returned in triumph with our 
dear prisoners, all wearing the 'cangue' around their 
necks, as criminals, and exposed to the derision of 
the pagans, as Jesus bore His Cross towards Calvary. 
This seizure was followed by the capture of several 
others, among whom were three Annamite priests, in 
all upwards of fifty persons. Our confessors had to 
endure frightful torments and scourgings ; but all pre- 
ferred death to apostasy. One of the mandarins tried 
to make a young catechist trample the Cross. He 
replied, 'If you were told to trample under foot a coin 
bearing the image or superscription of the emperor, 
would you dare do it?' A great box on the ear was 
the answer. Another, taking the crucifix tenderly in 
his hand, and looking at it, said, 'Dear Lord! Thou 
hast never done anything but good, and they wish 
me to insult Thee! How could I have the heart?' 
Twenty strokes of the terrible 'rotin' were the reward 
of this outburst of- love and piety. The mandarins 
ordered the students to chant their usual prayers. 
They intoned at once the litanies of the Saints, and 
when they came to the petition for the king and for 
the mandarins, they repeated three times, with great 
fervor, 'Deliver them, O Lord, from all evil!' The 
mandarins understood the reproach and commanded 
them to hold their tongues. Then they tried to com- 
pel the old woman and her daughter to apostatize, but 
both refused, and the old woman said, 'Who would 

154 



Theophane Venard 

be fool enough to walk on the head of his father or 
mother?' The judges, ashamed of being defeated by 
a simple old woman, sent her back to her village with 
the child. 

"As to the rest, — the three priests were beheaded; 
the two catechists and the poor old deacon died under 
torture; and the others were exiled to an unwhole- 
some and wild mountainous district, where many- 
have preceded, and where many will follow them. 
May our Lord support and strengthen them! They 
are fools for Christ's sake. Yet theirs is the only 
true wisdom. What they have sown here below in 
suffering and humiliation, they will reap above in 
glory and in joy. 

"Our churches, colleges, and houses have been 
burnt to the ground. And this is not all. The Chris- 
tians have been exposed to the most unjust and rapa- 
cious extortions. How can I describe to you what 
leeches these Annamite officials are, from the highest 
to the lowest? The first thing a mandarin does when 
he visits a province is to ask if the 'king's orders have 
been executed.' In other words, he says, 'Bring me 
some money.' When he leaves it is the same thing. 
The underlings are worse. They quarter themselves 
upon the Christians, and if these do not at once give 
all they ask, they denounce them to the authorities, 
who throw them into prison. The people give them 
the nickname, 'mandarin horse-flies.' What makes 
these officials more vexing is the continual changes 
among them, each one looking upon his province as 
a place from which he must suck as much blood as 
possible in a short time. I have neither the time nor 
the heart to relate to you the turpitudes and villainies 
of these people, and that not to the Christians only^ 
but to all who may be under their rule. 

155 



A Modern Martyr 

'*The fate of our college of Hoang-Nghuyen has 
been equally that of Ke-Non and Vinh-Tri, but the 
last has suffered most. I cannot tell you all the de- 
tails, as our communications have been interrupted, 
and patrols placed on all the roads to prevent the 
Christians from meeting, or to compel them to trample 
the Cross under foot. But I know that out of 900 
souls, thirty or forty of the principal people have been 
throv^n into prison and most horribly tortured; yet 
they have stood firm, and a large number have been 
condemned to death. 

''It is not only Bp. Retord's diocese that has suf- 
fered so terribly. The persecution has swept over the 
whole country, from Cambogia to China. The Spanish 
Dominicans have been more cruelly treated even than 
ourselves. The order has come to seize all Christians, 
and to put them to death by what is called 'lang-tri;' 
that is, slow torture, cutting off first the ankles, 
then the knees, the fingers, the elbows, and so on till 
the victim is nothing but a mutilated trunk. Bp. Mel- 
chior, the Dominican Vicar Apostolic of the eastern 
district of Tong King, suffered this horrible death 
last August. But you will ask me, 'How did you 
manage to escape the fury of a storm like this?' I 
can only reply, 'By God's grace, who has me in 
His holy keeping, and considers that my hour has 
not yet come. Our Christians guard my cabin and 
the only thing to do is to keep oneself in a little 
corner without speaking or making the least noise. 
Even a sneeze or a cough may betray you. We 
consider ourselves fortunate if, in these retreats, we 
can have a little hole for light, so as to be able to read 
our office and some comforting book. In this weary 
but voluntary imprisonment one has to learn patience, 

156 



Theophane Venard 

and give up one's life freely to Divine Providence. 
Then, if the mandarin seems inclined to search the 
house, one takes advantage of the darkness to escape 
to another hiding-place. Sometimes in a temporary 
lull, or a favorable moment, we are able to get a lit- 
tle fresh air, and to stretch our cramped limbs. 

The great misery of this state of things is that one 
cannot administer the sacraments, and many of our 
converts have to die without any spiritual consolation. 
Another misfortune is that we nearly always compro- 
mise the Christians who give us hospitality, so that we 
often prefer trusting ourselves to the loyalty and good 
faith of pagans, who are less suspected. Fr. Theurel 
and I stayed two days and two nights in one of these 
houses ; but we did not meet its owner, who hid him- 
self, that he might not see a European face. We re- 
ceived notice to leave this asylum suddenly one night, 
and only a quarter of an hour afterwards the troops 
of the mandarins arrived. Bp. Retord, seeing the way 
in which we were hunted, advised us to take refuge, 
as he and Bp. Jeantet had done, in the mountain. We 
went, but the apostate before mentioned got an ink- 
ling of this, and surrounding the cavern where the 
Bishops had lately been concealed, placed guards at all 
the mountain passes. But God watched over His ser- 
vants and they escaped to the forests before the 
enemy had completed preparations. The mandarins 
searched all the caves, and carried oflf every thing 
they could find, which, in fact, was all that we pos- 
sessed; but no one was taken prisoner. 

''Bp. Retord, Fr. Charbonnier, and Fr. Mathevon 
wandered barefoot through the woods, half dead with 
hunger, their feet wounded at every step by the 
pointed stones which the Annamites call cats^ ears, 

157 



A Modern Martyr 

and with no means of quenching their thirst but a 
villainous kind of water which no one can drink with 
impunity. Seeing no way of escape, they built them- 
selves a little cabin in the centre of the forest, and re- 
mained there four months, during which time they 
were fed by neighbouring Christians, and preserved, in 
spite of the danger of being devoured by bears and 
tigers. I sent one of my catechists to them in August, 
and he was met by a magnificent royal tiger, who had 
that very day eaten two poor girls who had been pas- 
turing their bullocks on the roadside. My poor cate- 
chist was saved only by a miracle from a like fate. 
Dear brother, you will want to know if Bp. Retord is 
still in his forest home ? His body, yes ; but his spirit 
has left this vale of misery for a better world. A 
malignant fever carried him off on the 22nd of Octo- 
ber. Thus ended this life of labour and suffering, 
after twenty-five years spent on the Missions, and 
fifteen in the Episcopate. He did not live to see peace 
dawn on this unhappy country. All his days had been 
passed amid persecutions and contradictions, the 
realization of a dream which he had as a child, when 
the Virgin appearing carried him to the top of a high 
mountain, at the foot of a great Cross, and told him 
his life would be a series of crucifixions to the end. 
All missionaries have to follow the way of the Cross, 
but Bp. Retord did so more than any of us, and his 
death in this terrible forest, exposed to the continual 
attacks of wild beasts, and without the commonest 
necessities of life, was indeed death on the Cross — 
naked, austere, like that of his Lord and Master. 

"When Bp. Retord died he was alone with Fr. 
Mathevon. Fr. Charbonnier having had a touch of 
the fever, the Bishop had sent him down to the plains 

158 



Theophane Venard 

to be nursed in the house of a pious Christian ; and after 
our holy Bishop had expired, Fr. Mathevon took shel- 
ter in a less unhealthful place, where he remains con- 
cealed. As for Fr. Theurel, Fr. Titaud, and myself, we 
too had to climb the mountains, walk with bleeding 
feet on the cats ears and install ourselves as hermits in 
the forest. We remained a fortnight in perfect peace, 
and each day added some improvement to our Robin- 
son Crusoe life. We collected rain-water to drink, 
and to cook our provisions; then we made a little 
straight avenue where we could walk and recite our 
office. Every morning the inhabitants of the village 
of Dong-Chiem brought us provisions; and we had 
just begun to dig the ground and plant some vege- 
tables, when one morning we had an unexpected visit 
from six pagans, armed to the teeth, who came under 
pretence of tiger-hunting. We received them with 
great civility, and a few moments after, under pre- 
tence of going out into the adjoining forest to fetch 
some wood, we escaped rapidly down the mountain 
side to a boat which we kept on the river always ready 
for emergencies. These pretended hunters were in 
reality spies sent by the mandarins. From that mo- 
ment we resolved to live in our boat among the reeds, 
now in one place, and now in another. A faithful and 
devoted young Christian brought us food every day, 
under pretence of fishing. This life of sea-birds went 
on for some weeks, when we found that we were 
again discovered and watched, so that we were com- 
pelled to separate, and to seek shelter in different 
houses. I returned to my old district and lived for 
three weeks in the house of a catechist, but amid con- 
tinual alarms. I then took lodgings at But-Dong, in 
a convent, where I still remain. This village is half 

159 



A Modern Martyr 

Christian, half pagan; and in case of alarm I have 
promised not to leave the place, but to hide in a cav- 
ern which has been prepared for me. Fr. Saiget, who 
had been imprisoned for three months in a dark place, 
escaped through a hole in the roof, and has been able 
to come and join me. Just now we are enjoying a 
certain tranquility. The nuns have given up their 
own room, which is large enough for us to walk six 
or seven steps, and two of our catechists are with us, 
so that we study Chinese together to occupy time. But 
the spies of the mandarins surround us, and the poor 
nuns are in continual terror. There are sixteen of 
them and they take turns watching day and night. On 
the other hand, it is an immense consolation for them 
to have the sacraments, confession and communion, 
while we strive to console and strengthen them to the 
utmost of our power. 

"We are in daily expectation of peace. A French 
squadron arrived at Touranne on the ist of Septem- 
ber, and 3000 troops are camped on the shore. As 
soon as their arrival was known there was great re- 
joicing among Christians and pagans, for the pagans 
hate the reigning dynasty and attribute all the misfor- 
tunes of late years to the bad conduct of the king, who 
thinks of nothing but pleasure and neglects his peo- 
ple, whom he gives up to the oppression and rapacity 
of mandarins. Many say, 'The cruelties against the 
Christians have brought down the vengeance of the 
gods on this dynasty. The Europeans come to de- 
liver them, which is just and fair.' The appearance 
of a comet has strengthened the popular belief in the 
approaching dissolution of the Government. Such 
phenomena are always a sign of war to a superstitious 

160 




;^ 
Q 

H 

o 
o 



o 
H 



M 



Theophane Venard 

people. A revolt has been organized, and waits only 
for the reported success of the French troops to lift 
its standard from one end of the country to the other. 
Strangely enough, although the French squadron has 
been for three months and a half in Cochin-China, 
we have heard nothing." 



161 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER XIII. 

In the Caves. 

*'I have just heard that six more of our Christians 
have won the martyr's palm. Four were priests. One 
of our young students — of a noble family^ — who had 
had the misfortune to apostatize under torture, over- 
whelmed with remorse, gave himself up again into 
the hands of the cruel mandarin of Nam Dinh, who, 
in his fury, had him crushed to death under elephants' 
feet. Bp. Jeantet says he was quite a little fellow, and 
in one of the youngest classes. He adds, 'Our older 
students were superhuman in faith and fortitude. One 
of them, covered with blood, said, smiling, to the tor- 
turers, 'Your pincers and scourges are nothing to us ; 
try something else !' 

"Fr. Legrand de la Lyraie, one of our missionaries 
in the eastern district, writes for Admiral Rigault de 
Genouilly, who commands the French squadron in 
the Chinese waters, imploring us to take refuge on 
board his French steamer until the necessary meas- 
ures be taken by the French army to deliver the An- 
namite Christians from oppression. The admiral is 
excessively alarmed at the dangers with which we are 
threatened, and wishes to put our lives out of the 
reach of the persecutors. Unfortunately, his proposal 
is impossible to us poor missionaries of the western dis- 
trict; we are too far from the sea, and journeying in 

162 



Theophane Venard 

the country is too perilous to be attempted. I have 
answered Fr. Legrand's kind letter and enclose this 
one in his, although there is fear that they will not 
reach their destination. I pray the Holy Angels ta 
guard and conduct in peace the two devoted women 
who will be the bearers of my epistles! Women are 
our letter-carriers everywhere and manage it much 
better and with greater facility than men. Adieu.'' 

This letter was dated December 21, 1858, and 
reached its destination in March, 1859, God having^ 
watched over the faithful messengers, so that they 
reached the French squadron at Touranne in safety. 
In July, 1859, similar letters were despatched by our 
missionary, but they were intercepted and never 
touched the soil of France. It was not till March, 
i860, that Theophane again put pen to paper. But 
already his father had gone to announce in Heaven 
the coming of his son. His three children, grouped 
around his bed, had implored his benediction, and Me- 
lanie, faithful to her promise, held before her father's 
dying eyes the portrait of his absent one. "Dearest 
father, Theophane is also here; you must bless him 
with us." The poor father gave a deep sigh, and 
murmured faintly, ''Ah, that dear child! where is he?"^ 
. . . Then, gathering all his strength, and raising 
himself in his bed, he exclaimed, ''Dear children, re- 
ceive this the last blessing of your father, in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen." His uplifted hand fell heavily back on the 
bed. Then he looked upwards with a fixed expression 
for some minutes, and those around him felt that he 
must have seen a beautiful vision; so this good man 
slept sweetly in God, and his pure, honest soul passed 

163 



A Modern Martyr 

without struggle' to its rest. The death occurred at 
noon Friday, the 26th of August, 1859, M. Venard 
being sixty-four years of age. His children had the 
following inscription engraved on his tomb : — 

"Lord! He shared in Thy sacrifice; grant that he 
may share in Thy peace." 

The sad news was at once conveyed to Tonquin 
but the unhappy state of that country prevented the 
arrival of the letters; and Theophane never knew on 
earth of his father's death. 

But to return to the Mission. After the death of 
Bp. Retord, Bp. Jeantet — who was about seventy years 
of age — remained alone to administer the vast diocese. 
He chose Fr. Theurel to act as his coadjutor; and this 
devoted missionary, a bosom friend of Theophane, 
was consecrated Bishop of Acanthus, though only 
twenty-nine years old. If God had given peace for a 
short time to this persecuted Church, much might 
have been done by these two men, the one of such ripe 
wisdom and experience, the other with such fervent 
zeal and burning love of souls. But our Lord per- 
mitted the still further desolation of this land ; and the 
following letter from Fr. Venard gives an account of 
the first and last persecution of which he was to be 
the witness and the victim. The letter is addressed to 
an old college friend, the Abbe Paziot, and is dated 
the loth of May, i860. 

^'My dear Friend, — It is a long time since I have 
written to you and perhaps you may fancy that I am 
dead, or that time has swept away our old friendship. 
Now I hope that both suppositions will disappear 
when you see this monstrous bit of paper — the only 
thing I can get — on which I shall try to paint for you 

164 



Theophane Venard 

— I have nothing but a brush — a description of our Hfe 
here, in as good language as a poor missionary can 
command who has nearly forgotten his native tongue. 
''I write to you from Tonquin, and from a little 
dark hole, the only light coming through the crack of 
a partially-opened door, which just enables me to 
trace these lines, and now and then to read a few 
pages of a book. For one must be ever on the watch. 
If the dog barks, or a stranger passes, the door is in- 
stantly closed, and I prepare to hide myself in a still 
lower hole, which has been excavated in my tem- 
porary retreat. This is the v^^ay I have lived for three 
months, sometimes alone, sometimes in company with 
my dear old friend, Bp. Theurel, now coadjutor to 
our Vicar Apostolic. The convent which formerly 
sheltered us has been destroyed by the pagans who 
got wind of our being there. We had just time to 
escape between two double walls about a foot wide. 
We could see through the chinks the band of perse- 
cutors, with the mayor at their head, garotting five or 
six of the oldest nuns, who had been left behind when 
the younger ones took flight. They beat these poor 
women with rods, laying their hands on every thing 
they could get, even a few earthenware pots which 
hung on the partition behind which we were con- 
cealed. And we heard them vociferating, howling 
like demons, threatening to kill and burn everybody 
and every thing unless they were given a large sum 
of money. This 'agreeable visit' lasted four hours ; and 
we were so close that we almost touched them, not 
daring to make the smallest movement, and holding 
our breath till our pursuers were invited by the prin- 
cipal people of the village to go out and eat and get 
drunk with them. They did not go, however, with- 

165 



A Modern Martyr 

out leaving guards to surround the house; so that it 
was not till cock-crow in the morning that we could 
make our escape, and take refuge in a smoky dung- 
heap belonging to a pious old Christian widow, where 
we were joined by another missionary who had had 
equal difficulties in making good his retreat. 

"What do you think of our position, dear old 
friend? Three missionaries, one of whom is a bishop, 
lying side by side, day and night, in a space about a 
yard and a half square, our only light and means of 
breathing being three holes, the size of a little finger, 
made in the mud wall, which a poor old woman is 
obliged to conceal by some fagots thrown down out- 
side. Under our feet is a brick cellar, constructed 
with great skill by one of our catechists ; in this cellar 
are three bamboo tubes, cleverly contrived to have 
their openings to the fresh air on the borders of a 
neighbouring lake. This same catechist has built two 
other similar hiding-places in this village with several 
double partition walls. 

''We stayed with our poor old widow three weeks, 
during which time I am afraid you would have been 
rather scandalized at our gaiety. When the three holes 
gave no more light, we had a little lamp with a shade 
to prevent its tiny rays from penetrating outside 
through the chinks of our prison. One day we found 
ourselves surrounded, in fact completely blocked, by 
sentinels posted at every corner of the house, so that 
there was no possibility of passing from one house to 
the other. An apostate had betrayed our hiding- 
place, and knew that we were in the village. Well, 
God defeated his plans. From morning till night, 
the pagans passed and repassed us, upset every thing 
in the house, searched every corner. They broke in the 

166 



Theophane Venard 

walls, behind which we were concealed, and I thought 
our hour of martyrdom had come. But vain are the 
efforts of men when God opposes their designs! Per- 
haps you will say, 'In such a place, without air, light, 
or exercise, how can you live?' Your question is per- 
fectly reasonable; and, what is more, you might ask, 
why we don't go mad. Shut up in the thickness of 
two walls, with a roof which one can touch with his 
hand; for our companions, — spiders, rats, and toads; 
obliged always to speak in a low voice, 'like the wind,' 
as the Annamites say; receiving every day terrible 
news of the torture and death of our fellow-mission- 
aries, of the destruction of missions, the exile of our 
students, and, worse still, occasionally of their apos- 
tasy under torture, — it requires, I admit, a special 
grace, a grace fitted to our state I suppose, not to be 
utterly discouraged and cast down. 

As to our health, we are like poor plants in a cellar, 
stretching our lanky, unhealthy branches toward the 
light and air. When I can put my mouth close to the 
door which guards our retreat, I own occasionally to a 
feeling of envy for those who can enjoy as much of 
God's fresh air and sunshine as they please. One of my 
brethren writes to-day that for eighteen months he has 
not seen the sun, and he dates his letter 'from the land 
of moles.' As for me, I live on without being too bil- 
ious; the weak points about me are the nerves. I 
want something strengthening, like wine, but we have 
barely enough to say Mass, so one must not think of 
it. I have some pills now which an Annamite doctor 
has made up for me instead. Not many days ago, I 
managed to pass into a neighbouring house, and was 
very much astonished to find myself tottering like a 
drunken man. I had lost the habit and almost the 

167 



A Modern Martyr 

power of walking, and the daylight made me giddy. 

'1 wrote to my family in 1858, to tell them of the 
French squadron at Touranne. In 1859 they destroyed 
the fortifications of Saigon, in Cochin-China, leaving 
a garrison in one of the forts of the river. Then came 
the summer and news of the war with Austria, and 
a pestilential sickness which began to decimate our 
troops. Nevertheless, hostilities were resumed against 
the Annamites in the autumn, and continued till 
April, i860, when, to the astonishment of everyone, 
the French retreated, and abandoned all the points 
which they had previously occupied." 

Then follows a long comment on this retirement of 
the French troops, ending with, *' 'Man proposes, and 
God disposes.' An expedition undertaken by the iron 
will of the Emperor Napoleon III., and confided to 
such a man as Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, ought 
to have been crowned with success. But what are 
human probabilities to the Divine decrees? He has 
permitted that our deliverance should be delayed, and 
our Church still further purified by suffering." 

"The Annamite government seeing the French 
leave their shores, determined once for all to extir- 
pate the Catholic faith throughout the kingdom. 
Mandarins in any way favorable to the Catholics 
were dismissed, and replaced by others whose hatred 
was well knovv^n. Crosses were placed at the entrance 
to all villages that the Christians might be forced to 
trample them. Horribly blasphemous verses were 
chanted, declaring that Zato, the Annamite name of 
'Jesus,' had a dog for his father ; and men were found 
vile enough to carve crucifixes with a figure of a dog 
on one side and a woman on the other, so as to de- 
grade to the utmost the God of the Christians." He 

168 



Theophane Venard 

alludes to other blasphemies even worse, and contin- 
ues, "The government has established in each canton 
a new functionary, who is called 'The shepherd of 
the flock' (you may imagine he should rather be 
called the 'wolf'), and in each mayoralty an officer 
styled 'the strong man of the village,' both of whom 
are employed in hunting down the unhappy 'ZatOy or 
followers of Christ, who, being beyond the pale of 
law and justice, are exposed to every species of ig- 
nominy, suffering, and wrong, without hope of re- 
dress. Then there is a curious law in this country, 
which makes a whole village suffer for the offence o! 
one member. Therefore if a priest is found in a 
place, especially a European, the town is razed to the 
ground, half the inhabitants put to death, the rest 
scattered to the four winds, while the mayor or chief 
functionaries will be exiled and degraded if they have 
concealed the white man, or will receive a large sum of 
money if they have betrayed him. Who could resist 
such a temptation? ^ 

''Again, on account of the destruction of our Col- 
lege, more than 1200 young men are without homes or 
occupation; not daring to return to their families, (if 
they have any), and wandering from one Christian 
mission to another till they almost inevitably fall into 
the hands of the persecutors. Scarcely one of these 
has yielded to the cruelty or blandishments of their 
tormentors, and the Church may indeed be proud of 
having engendered such noble confessors of the 
faith. But you see, dear friend, how impossible it is 
for us, pastors of the flock, to console or break the 
bread of life to our poor, suffering children. We are 
compelled to hide ourselves and leave our lambs to 
the wolves. And then in this country the more inso- 

169 



A Modern Martyr 

lent the nobles are, the more cowardly are the people, 
who become practically slaves. The women, too, are 
treated as children without souls; and although they 
are models of chastity and of zeal for the faith, they 
are so frightened that they almost lose their senses. 
It is only the nuns, who have had a longer and more 
careful Christian training, who can calmly brave the 
persecutors. When the French squadron appeared in 
1859, the officials here persuaded themselves that the 
missionaries had sent for it and that we were in league 
with the rebels to upset the reigning dynasty and to 
help on the revolution. They therefore seized the 
principal Christians in each village and threw them 
into prison, a terrible blow to the poor of the congre- 
gation, who had no longer any protectors whatever 
against their cruel oppressors. Out of seventy Anna- 
mite priests in this district, ten have already earned 
the martyr's palm; seven others are waiting in prison 
for the moment when death shall put an end to their 
torments. More than 1000 priests and laymen are ex- 
iled in the mountains. 

''I began this letter in a little hiding-place in the 
midst of a fervent Christian population. In vain has 
the mandarin, who has the hatred of a demon against 
Christ, employed every possible agent to destroy or 
weaken their faith. He has failed because the whole 
population is of one mind and he cannot put them all 
to death. To revenge himself he has sent bands of 
young pagans to announce his arrival, to seize and 
gag the young girls, and to commit every species of 
atrocity. When he does not come, they are released 
only on payment of immense sums. So our Christians 
are always on the qui vive; to escape these horrors, 
men, women, and children flee to the rice-fields, and 

170 



Theophane Venard 

remain night and day concealed in mud and water. 
Sometimes the poor girls have been brought back to 
us half dead with the cold from this kind of exposure. 
One day the mandarin announced his visit, and his 
satellites were carrying on their work of pillage and 
brutality in every house. Suddenly they discovered 
one of our hiding-places, which, happily, was empty. 
They made a great fuss about this, and next morning, 
sent masons, with spades and hoes, to dig in every 
Christian house until they could find us. But Provi- 
dence watched over us and we made our escape; I 
am now in the midst of pagans, not knowing what is 
going to happen next. They appear kind and benevo- 
lent; but God alone can read to the bottom of their 
hearts. They have a high idea of hospitality, and 
would hardly wrong a stranger who has come so far 
to seek it. Perhaps God has chosen such protectors 
so that the light of Gospel truth may shine upon them. 
Dear old friend ! as I write this, the thought of all our 
misfortunes nearly overwhelms me, and I can hardly 
restrain my tears. Before this terrible persecution our 
mission was so flourishing ! so many souls were being 
harvested! And now I feel like Jeremiah groaning 
over the ruins of Jerusalem. Will these ruins ever be 
rebuilt? It is like Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones. 
Can they ever be resuscitated? I have given you a 
summary of our misfortunes, but they are aggravated 
by a multitude of little circumstances which I should 
only weary you by enumerating. 'Magna est velut 
mare contritio tual'j 

"But as for myself, dearest friend, I have confidence 
in God that I shall accomplish my course, preserving 
intact the deposit of Faith, Hope, and Charity; and 

tGreat as the ocean is thy sorrow. 
171 



A Modern Martyr 

that finally, by the merits of our Lord, I shall share 
with His friends the crown of the just. I wrote to 
my father in June, 1859, but I fear the letter has 
never reached him. Send him this one, and let him 
feel it is as if written to himself; and ask him to re- 
double his prayers for his poor little child-missionary. 
Dear father! He must be getting old now! I cannot 
help being anxious for tidings of them all; for two 
years I have heard nothing. 

''Dearest Melanie, — I meant to have written you a. 
separate letter, as also to my brothers; but this one 
must do for you all. I have had no news of you since 
December, 1858; but I do not doubt that you have 
written, and perhaps a few months hence I may get 
your letters. A Dieu! and God bless you, my much- 
loved ones. May you become greater saints day by 
day, — Your own devoted 

'Theophane." 

"I commend myself especially to your prayers." 

The contents of this letter, and especially its con- 
clusion, point to the sad but glorious end which was at 
hand. The missionaries, hunted like wild beasts, could 
no longer find a place of shelter; it is inconceivable 
how they could have endured their trials and misfor- 
tunes so long. In the meantime, Fr. Titaud, ex- 
hausted by the underground life which he had been 
compelled to lead for two years, expired on the 29th of 
January, i860. Fr. Neron, betrayed into the hands of 
the enemy, tmderwent the torture of the knout, and 
was thrown into prison, where he remained for three 
months, of which twenty-one days were spent without 
any other nourishment than a few drops of water in 
the morning. At last he was beheaded, and thus ful- 

172 



Theophane Venard 

filled a curious prophecy which had been made con- 
cerning him at Paris in 1848. 

'Tr. Neron has left us," writes Bp. Theurel, "and 
has passed from the battle-field to the rank of martyr ; 
Fr. Venard is taking the same road and will soon 
be with him in Heaven." The heroic close of this 
young apostle's life must form the subject of another 
chapter. 



173 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Arrest and Martyrdom. 

The letter contained in the preceding chapter was 
written in May, i860. Of this time, Bp. Theurel 
says — 

"Fr. Venard was living in a pagan village, preach- 
ing and teaching with great success, although the 
people said that, to declare themselves Christians, 
they must wait till the persecution had ceased a little. 
The chief of the province having intimated that he 
considered him as his prisoner, Fr. Venard went on to 
the Christian village of Ke-Beo. He found supersti- 
tions of all kinds rampant in this place, and remained, 
desiring, as he said, 'a hand-to-hand fight with the 
devil.' God crowned his labors with wonderful suc- 
cess; after a few months the whole character of the 
place was changed, and a fervent Christian popula- 
tion replaced the timid, superstitious flock which he 
had found on his arrival. After this, he spent twenty 
days in the village of Kem-Bang, strengthening and 
consoling the terrified Christians, and incessantly 
teaching and administering the Sacraments. He went 
on then to But-Son, one of our noted missions in this 
terrible thirty years' persecution. Here he found a 
devout native priest, and with him worked wonders 
among the people. Bp. Jeantet joined him here; and 
a few days after, Fr. Venard, leaving the venerable 

174 



Theophane Venard 

bishop in safety in this almost impregnable fortress, 
went back to Ke-Beo. The good effects of his pre- 
vious visit were still apparent, and Fr. Venard 
thought that he might remain in peace, to complete 
the good work. But he promised his catechist, Luong, 
that he would return very shortly to the safer refuge 
of But-Dong, as every one was extremely anxious 
about his safety. These were indeed critical days. 

"On the 30th of November, about nine o'clock in 
the morning, five or six junks, carrying about twenty 
men, appeared a few yards from the missionary's 
house. As it was an isolated building, and the floods 
covered the whole country, these junks were able to 
guard every avenue. They were led by an old chief 
of a neighbouring hamlet, named Cai-D6, the same 
who in 1854 had contrived the escape of Fr. Neron 
from the custom-house, but who now came on a to- 
tally different errand. Leaving his junks, he marched 
with five or six of his men to the mission house. Fr. 
Venard, instantly realizing the whole plot, had re- 
tired between the usual double walls. Arriving at 
the house, the chief cried out, 'Let the European priest 
come forth.' At these words, the catechist, Khang, 
who was busy hiding Fr. Venard's property, came 
forward boldly, and said, 'It is I who inhabit this 
house, although I have only lately arrived. If you 
will leave me in peace I shall be thankful ; but if not, 
I shall be resigned.' The chief, giving a signal to his 
men to garrot the catechist, marched straight into the 
house, and giving a great kick to the thin double par- 
tition which concealed the missionary, seized Fr. 
Venard, and dragged him brutally to the junks, with 
his servant. It was a very fine capture accomplished 
with no risk whatever. By the time the faithful vil- 

175 



A Modern Martyr 

lagers of Ke-Beo heard a rumor of the event, the 
junks were well out of sight with their prey and res- 
cue was impossible. You may wish to know, dear 
Eusebius, who was the Judas that betrayed our dear- 
est brother and Christ's chosen minister. There are 
different reports, but the most probable is that which 
fixes the treachery on Su-D6i, a pagan, related to 
the widow with whom the missionary lodged. 

''The chief, having carried off the prisoners safely 
to his own home, made a great feast of rejoicing, after 
which he drove our dear missionary into a cage of 
bamboo, putting a 'cangue' on the neck of the cate- 
chist, and thus he took them to the prefecture. He 
stated that, when patroling with his junks, he had 
come on these two men outside the jurisdiction of 
Ke-Beo, and had hastened to bring them before the 
mandarin. He said this because he looked for a large 
reward, and also because the chief of Ke-Beo was his 
own son-in-law, who would either share the booty or 
lose his place. But his ruse did not answer ; for every 
one knew that the missionary was seized at Ke-Beo; 
and as a consequence that village was heavily fined 
and had to pay more than 800 bars of silver, of which 
our poor community bore half. From his cage, Fr. 
Venard penned the following letter, which I enclose 
with this one : 

'' 'December 3, i860. 

" 'My dearest People, — God in His mercy has per- 
mitted me to fall into the hands of the wicked. On 
the Feast of St. Andrew I was put in a square cage 
and carried to the prefecture, whence I trace these 
few lines for you, with some difficulty, by the aid of 
a paint-brush. To-morrovv^, December 4th, I am to 
appear before the judge. God knows what awaits 

176 



Theophane Venard 

me, but I do not fear. The grace of the Most High 
will be with me, and my Mother Mary will protect her 
poor little servant. I hope I shall be allowed writing 
materials ; but I profit by this occasion, which a good 
pagan has given me, to send you love from my prison. 
The household of the sub-prefect is full of kindness 
and attentions toward me, so I suffer very little. They 
come and visit me continually and allow me to speak 
freely. I take advantage of the opportunity to in- 
struct them in the Christian faith. Many have owned 
to me their entire belief in our Creed, and say that 
the religion of Jesus Christ is the only one conform- 
able to reason ; and that if it were not for fear of the 
king and his terrible edicts they would gladly become 
Christians. 

''Well, here I am in the arena of the Confessors 
for the Faith. Certainly God chooses the poor and 
weak things of this world to confound the mighty ! I 
have confidence that the news of my fight will be 
equally that of my victory, for I do not lean on my 
own strength, but on the strength of Him who has 
overcome the powers of death and hell. I think of 
you all, my dearest father, my beloved sister, and 
brothers ; and if I obtain the grace of martyrdom, oh, 
then still more shall I have you in remembrance! 
A Dieu, my best loved ones, to our meeting in Heaven ! 
In a moment I shall be adorned with the confessor's 
chains. Once more, adieu !' " 

'The mandarin," wrote Bp. Theurel at this trying 
time, "was far from pleased at the arrival of the pris- 
oners. Like Pilate, he protested loudly against tak- 
ing innocent blood, and declared that the sin and the 
odium would fall on the head of the captors, that for 
himself he kept the prisoners only because he did not 

177 



A Modern Martyr 

dare to let them go. He was most civil to Fr. Venard, 
and changed his bamboo cage for a far more comfort- 
able one of wood, higher and wider, so that he could 
put himself in any position he pleased. He also had 
a very light chain made for him, weighing only two 
pounds and a half; and this valued chain is now in 
my possession; our dear prisoner wore no other till 
his death. The prefect carried his condescension to 
the length of asking the missionary to dine in the 
audience chamber like a free man. After this a de- 
tachment of fifty or a hundred soldiers arrived to es- 
cort the prisoners to the capital, and the prefect sent 
with them a long letter explaining the circumstances 
of their arrest by the Chief Do, who formed part of 
the convoy." 

Arrived at the capital, Fr. Venard found means to 
write again to his family. We give this letter in full : 

''January 2, 1861. 
''My dearest Father^ Sister^ and Brothers^ — I 
write to you at the beginning of this year, which will 
be my last on earth. I hope that you got the little 
note which I wrote announcing my capture on the 
Feast of St. Andrew, when God permitted me to be 
betrayed by a traitor, but I owe him no grudge. 
From that village I sent you a few lines of farewell 
before I had the criminal's chain fastened on my feet 
and neck. I have kissed that chain, a true link which 
binds me to Jesus and Mary, and which I would not 
exchange for its weight in gold. The mandarin had 
the kindness to have a light one made for me, and 
treated me, during my stay in his prefecture, with 
every possible consideration. His brother came at 
least ten times to try and persuade me to trample the 

178 



Theophane Venard 

cross under foot rather than see me die so young! 
When I left the prefecture to go on to the capital, an 
immense crowd came to witness my departure ; one of 
them, a young Christian, was not afraid to throw him- 
self on his knees three times before my cage, implor- 
ing my blessing, and declaring me to be a messenger 
sent from Heaven, in spite of the guards and. the 
mandarins. He was of course made prisoner. 

''At the end of a couple of days I arrived at Kecho, 
the ancient capital of the Tonquin kings. Can you 
fancy me sitting quietly in the centre of my wooden 
cage, borne by eight soldiers, in the midst of an in- 
numerable crowd of people, who almost bar the pas- 
sage of the troops. I heard some of them sayings 
'What a pretty boy that European is !' 'He is gay and 
bright, as if he were going to a feast!' 'He doesn't 
look a bit afraid!' 'Certainly he can't have done any 
thing wrong!' 'He came to our country to do us 
good and yet they will put him to death!' &c.. &c. 
We entered the citadel by the eastern gate and they 
brought me at once before the tribunal of the judge 
in criminal cases. My catechist Khang, bearing his 
terrible yoke, walked behind my cage. I prayed 
God's Holy Spirit to strengthen us both and to speak 
by our mouths according to our Saviour's promise; 
and I invoked the Queen of Martyrs and begged her 
to help her faithful child. 

"To begin with, the judge gave me a cup of tea 
which I drank without ceremony in my cage. Then 
began the interrogatory, as usual: 'Whence do you 
come ?' 'I am from the Great West, from the country 
of France.' 

"'What have you come to do in Annam?' 'I have 
come to preach the true religion to those who know 
it not.' 

179 



A Modern Martyr 

'''What is your age?' 'Thirty-one.' The judge 
here said aside, with an accent of pity, 'Poor fellow! 
he is still very young!' Then he continued, 'Who 
sent you here?' 'Neither the king nor the mandarins 
of France; but I myself, of my own accord came to 
preach the Gospel to the heathen, and my superiors 
in religion assigned Annam to me as my district.' 

" 'Do you know the bishop called, in the Annamite 
language, Lieow?' (Bp. Retord). 'Yes, I know him.' 

" 'Why did he give letters of recommendation to 
the rebel chiefs to enroll the Christians?' 

" 'I venture to ask the mandarin in reply, 'From 
what source did he derive that information?' 

" 'The prefect of Nam-Digne wrote us word of it/ 

" 'Well, then, I can bear witness that it is not true. 
The Bishop was too wise to commit so foolish an act, 
and if letters were produced to prove it, I should 
know that they were false. I saw the circular which 
Bishop Lieow addressed to his priests, in which he 
positively forbade their joining the rebel chiefs and 
declared that he would a thousand times sooner sac- 
rifice his life than dip his crozier in blood.' 

" 'And the warriors of Europe, who took Touranne 
and Saigon, who sent them? What was their object 
in making war on our country?' 

*' 'Mandarin — I heard the rumors of war ; but hav- 
ing no communication with these European troops, I 
cannot answer your question.' 

"At this part of the interrogatory the prefect ar- 
rived, and he had hardly taken his seat when he cried 
out to me, in a loud and angry voice, — 

" 'Ah ! you chief of the Christian religion, you have 
a clever countenance, you know very well that the An- 
namite laws forbid entrance into the kingdom to 

180 



Theophane Venard 

Europeans; what was the use, then, of coming here 
to be killed? It is you who have excited the Euro- 
peans to make war upon us, is it not? Speak the 
truth, or I will put you to the torture.' 

'' 'Great mandarin, you ask me two questions. To 
the first I reply that I am sent as an ambassador from 
Heaven to preach the true religion to those who scorn 
it not, no matter in what kingdom, or in what place. 
We respect the authority of kings on the earth, but we 
respect more the authority of the King of Heaven. To 
your second question I answer that I never in any 
way invited or excited the Europeans to make war 
on the Annamite kingdom.' 

" 'In that case will you tell them to go ? And you 
will then obtain your pardon.' 

" 'Great mandarin ! I have no power and no author- 
ity in such matters, but if his Majesty sends me I will 
beg the European warriors to abstain from making 
war on the Annamites ; and if I do not succeed, I will 
return here to suffer death.' 

" 'You do not fear death, then?' 

" 'Great mandarin ! I do not fear death. I have 
come here to preach the true religion. I am guilty of 
no crime which deserves death. But if the Anna- 
mites kill me, I shall shed my blood with great joy 
for them.' 

" 'Have you any spite or ill-will against the man 
w^ho betrayed and took you prisoner ?' 

" 'None at all. The Christian religion forbids us 
to entertain anger, and teaches us to love those who 
hate us.' 

" 'Chief of the Christian religion ! You must de- 
clare the names of all the places and people who have 
sheltered you up to this hour.' 

181 



A Modern Martyr 

*' 'Great mandarin ! They call you the father and 
mother of this people. If I were to make such a dec- 
laration it would involve a large number of persons 
in untold misery. Judge for yourself whether it 
would become me to do this or not?' 

'' 'Trample the cross under foot, then, and you shall 
not be put to death.' 

'' 'How ! I who have preached the religion of the 
Cross all my life until this day, do you expect me to 
abjure it now? I do not esteem so highly the pleasures 
of this life as to be willing to buy the preservation of 
it by apostasy.' 

" Tf death has such a charm in your eyes, why did 
you hide yourself when there was fear of your being 
taken?' 

" 'Great mandarin ! Our religion forbids us to pre- 
sume on our strength, and to deliver ourselves to the 
persecutors. But Heaven having permitted my ar- 
rest, I have confidence in God that He will give me 
sufficient courage to suffer all torture and be con- 
stant unto death.' 

"This is a summary of the questions asked me, and 
of my answers. The mandarins then proceeded to 
question my catechist and inflicted ten strokes of the 
knout, which he bore without flinching, God giving 
him strength all the while gloriously to confess the 
faith. 

"Since that day I have been placed in my cage at 
the door of the prefect's house, guarded by a com- 
pany of Cochin-Chinese soldiers. A great many per- 
sons of rank have come to visit and converse with me. 
They will have it that I am a doctor, an astronomer, 
a diviner, a prophet, from whom nothing is hid. Sev- 
eral visitors have begged me to tell their fortunes. 

182 



Theophane Venard 

Then they question me about Europe, about France, 
in fact, about the whole world. This gives me an 
opportunity to enlighten them a little on points about 
which they are supremely ignorant, and on which they 
have sometimes the most comical ideas. I try above 
everything to slip in a little serious word now and 
then so as to teach them the way of salvation. But 
the Annamites are a frivolous race, and don't like 
serious subjects ; still less will they treat on philosophy 
or religion. On the other hand, their heart is good, 
and they do their best to show me both interest and 
sympathy. My soldier guards have an affection for 
me, and though they have been blamed two or three 
times for letting me go out, they still open my cage 
from time to time, and allow me to take a little walk. 
. . . Sometimes their conversation is not very proper, 
but I never let pass words of that sort ; and I do not 
hesitate to speak to them strongly. I tell them that 
they lower themselves in the eyes of everyone by 
impure thoughts and libertine discourses; and that 
if they can talk in that way without blushing, tfiey 
deserve nothing but pity, not to say contempt. My 
lessons make an impression. They are far more care- 
ful in their language now, and some have gone to the 
length of begging my pardon for having made use of 
indelicate expressions. Still I cannot say that every- 
thing is sweet and pleasant; although many are kind 
to me, some insult and mock me, and use rough lan- 
guage to me. May God forgive them? 

"I am now only waiting patiently for the day when 
God will allow me to offer Him the sacrifice of my 
blood. I do not regret leaving this world; my soul 
thirsts for the waters of eternal life. My exile is over. 
I touch the soil of my real country; earth vanishes, 

183 



A Modern Martyr 

Heaven opens, I go to God. A Dieu, dearest father, 
sister, brothers, do not mourn for me, do not weep 
for me, live the years that are yet left to you on earth 
in unity and love. Practice your religion; keep pure 
from all sin. We shall meet again in Heaven, and 
shall enjoy true happiness in the kingdom of God. 
Adieu. I should like to write to each one separately 
but I cannot, you know my heart. It is three long, 
weary years since I have heard from you, and I know 
not who is taken or who is left. Adieu. The prisoner 
of Jesus Christ salutes you. In a very short time the 
sacrifice will be consummated. May God have you 
always in His holy keeping. Amen." 

His particular friend, Bp. Theurel, took charge of 
this letter, and added, ''The sentence of our dearest 
Theophane has been pronounced. He is to be be- 
headed, but the execution will probably be delayed 
till the middle of February. In the meantime he 
wants for nothing. And though in chains, he is as 
gay in his cage as a little bird." 

*'As I was the nearest missionary to Kecho, being 
only one day's march from the capital, I was naturally 
able to write to him three or four times. Bp. Jeantet 
and Fr. Saiget wrote likewise; and our dear pris- 
oner was able to answer us pretty regularly. Our 
medium of communication was a native Christian, the 
head of the patrol, a man true as steel, named Huong- 
Moi, whose house had been my refuge for two 
months and who had mingled with the troop of ser- 
vants at the prefecture, and obtained his present post 
out of devotion to our sufferer. On the 28th of De- 
cember, Theophane wrote, — 

" 'The mandarins wrote four days ago to announce 
my capture to the king, but no answer has yet been 

184 



Theophane Venard 

received. They made me sign a written declaration of 
the circumstances of my arrest, countersigned by my 
catechist Khang. I have taken care that it shall com- 
promise no one. I am pretty well treated, and some 
of the Cochin-Chinese soldiers are noble fellows. But 
I am kept at the door of the prefecture so that I write 
with difficulty. The great mandarin allows three- 
pence a day for my food and I am pretty well in 
health. My heart is as tranquil as a lake which re- 
flects the blue sky, and I have no fear. The mandarin 
of Nam-Xang, who spends his life tormenting the 
Christians, came to see me the other day, and I told 
him that "Jesus was stronger than he; that it was in 
vain he struggled with our Lord, and that he would 
have to yield to His power in the end." The gaoler 
Tu, who seized four priests in 1859, asked after you. 
I told him publicly that "his was a vile trade; and 
that his diploma as mandarin of the ninth class, the 
price of treachery and blood, would fade as a wild- 
flower in the Spring,'' at which the mandarin, judge, 
and all the guards laughed and applauded. I think 
they like and respect me, and the great mandarin has 
twice invited me to dinner.' 

"On the 3rd of January he wrote again: 'I have 
received your loving letter. A thousand thanks! I 
profit by the absence of the great mandarin to answer. 
He used to allow threepence for my food, but now he 
has stopped it, so I should have gone supperless to 
bed to-day if the chief Mai, who is also in prison, 
had not sent me a bowl of rice. The new mandarin 
of justice came to see me yesterday, and put me 
through a fresh interrogation. When he said that 
the happiness of the next world was doubtful, while 
the joys of the present were certain and positive, I 

185 



A Modern Martyr 

replied, 'As for me, great mandarin, I find nothing 
on earth which gives real happiness; riches create 
envy and give cares ; sensual pleasures engender end- 
less maladies. My heart is too large, and nothing 
which you call happiness in this world satisfies it/ 
On the whole, he was not uncivil. As he said that he 
had given orders to have me well treated, I replied 
that I had nothing to eat. He pretended not to un- 
derstand me, so to-morrow the captain of the guard 
says that he will go and renew the demand. In 
spite of his fine speeches, this mandarin has doubled 
my guard, and sends some one constantly to see if 
my cage is closed. Among the gaolers is an excellent 
fellow named Tien, who shows me the most affection- 
ate respect. He alone, with one of the captains, is 
not afraid to make use of the expression ^'Bam lay," 
in speaking to me. (A term of reverence used only 
to address mandarins or persons of high position.) 
On New Year's Day the captain of the guard brought 
me a cup of first-class tea, and as the gaoler Tien was 
passing at the time, I invited him to share it with me, 
which he did with a delicacy and a simplicity which 
only the heart could teach, and which hypocrisy could 
not counterfeit. But my letter runs on without a word 
as to one's feelings. I wrote a long letter to my family 
on very bad paper, which I hope you received, and will 
kindly forward to them, filling up the details which 
may be wanting. Ah ! I am now come to the hour so 
long desired by us all. It is no longer, as in the "Hymn 
of Departure," ^'Perhaps some day," but ^'Very soon 
all the blood in my veins 

Will be shed for Thee. My feet — oh, what joy! — 
Are now loaded with chains." 

186 



Theophane Venard 

'* 'In the long, weary hours in my cage I think of 
eternity. Time is, after all, so short when thus meas- 
ured. You will repeat the words of St. Martin, 
''Domine, si adhuc populo tuo sum necessarius, non 
recuso lab or em /'j while I can exclaim with St. Paul, 
''Jam delihor; et tempiis resolutionis meae instat; 
(tibi) vivere ChrisHis est, mihi mori lucrum. O ! quam 
gloriosum est regnum in quo cum Christ o gaudent 
omnes sancti. . . . Aiidivi vocem . . . Beati mortui 
... ''4: These are words which, in spite of the per- 
secution, we never failed to sing on All Saints* and 
All Souls' Day, and which always touched us to 
tears. I do not know if I shall ever be allowed to 
write to you again. Good-bye ! I should have been 
very happy to have gone on working with you. I do 
so love this Tonquin mission ! But now, in place of 
the sweat of my brow% I give them my blood. The 
sword hangs over my head but I have no fears. Our 
good God has taken pity on my weakness and filled 
me with Himself so that I am happy, and even joy- 
ous. From time to time I astonish the mandarin's 
household by singing, — 

''O beloved mother, 

Place me 
Soon in our true home 
Near thee! 
Noble Tonquin ! land blessed by God ! 

Thou glorious country of the heroes of faith ! 
I came to serve thee. I gladly die for thee. 
So be it, O Lord. Amen." 

to Lord, if I am still needful to thy people I will not refuse to 

labor. 

$1 go now, the time of my dissolution is at hand. (For you) to 
live is Christ; for me to die is gain. O, how glorious is the 
kingdom in which all the saints will rejoice with Christ. . . I 
heard a voice . . . Blessed are the dead. . . . 

187 



A Modern Martyr 

When my head falls under the axe of the execu- 
tioner, receive it, O loving Jesus ! O immaculate 
Mother! as the bunch of ripe grapes falls under the 
scissors, as the full-blown rose which has been gath- 
ered in your honour. Ave Maria! I will say this 
also from you. Ave Maria!' (I had begged him with 
earnestness to salute Mary for me on his arrival in 
Paradise.) 

" 'I should be very grateful if you could manage 
to send som.e remembrance of me to my family. My 
chalice was a family parting souvenir; if my 
brother Eusebius could have it, he would be in the 
seventh heaven of delight. . . . Oh, how glorious 
must be the kingdom in which the Saints rejoice with 
Jesus Christ our Lord! I heard a voice from Heaven 
saying, ''Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." ' 

"By this letter of the 3rd of January, from your 
brother," continues Bp. Theurel, "you see that the 
mandarins had ceased to feed the prisoner of Jesus 
Christ. This was what we expected; so we directly 
employed a Christian widow, named Nghien, who hap- 
pened to be a sister of the great mandarin's cook, to 
provide all that was necessary for him; and in that 
way we could have more frequent communications. 
On the 6th of January he wrote again : — 

" 'I have just received your good wishes for the 
new year. Thanks ! Yes ; for once I have indeed a 
lucky chance. I ought to have sent you my affection- 
ate wishes sooner but you will forgive the delay. A 
happy new year to my dear, reverend Bishop! Peace 
and labor, and then an eternal repose in the bosom 
of the Saviour ! . . . During the absence of the man- 
darin prefect, his wife, a young girl from Kecho, re- 
cently married, came to pay me a visit ; but when she 

188 



Theophane Venard 

saw me come out of my cage she ran away like a 
child! I sent for her, and called her back as gently 
as I could; but when she did return she was so fright- 
ened that she could not open her mouth. Monseig- 
neur, you must work at this — at the education of 
woman, to raise her from her present servile position, 
to establish schools for the young girls, to teach them 
the beauty and grandeur of Christian womanhood. . 
. Let us say together once more, ''Tuus totus ego 
sum, et omnia mea tua sunt." ^f 

'There was then at this time in the prisons of 
Kecho an Annamite priest, named Khoan, who is there 
still. I was hoping that Theophane might be allowed 
to see him; but as their meeting seemed impossible, I 
sent the good Father Thinh, vicar of the parish of 
Kecho, to comfort our dear prisoner. Huong Moi, 
that faithful head of the patrol whom I have before 
mentioned, undertook to introduce him into the man- 
darin's palace, and even to the cage of Fr. Venard. 
The meeting took place on the 15th of January, in 
presence of the guards and of a whole crowd of peo- 
ple, the suite of the mandarins, who filled the hall. 
Your brother, pretending not to recognize Father 
Thinh, asked the chief of the patrol, *Who is the gen- 
tleman that came in with you just now?' 'It is the 
thay-ca/ replied Huong Moi. (This expression sig- 
nifies either a priest or the head of a family.) Poor 
Father Thinh felt his heart sink into his shoes at this 
word. But Huong Moi, who laughed at danger, 
made jokes with the people around, so as to hide the 
confusion of the priest and divert the people's atten- 
tion. Fr. Venard, being formally introduced as to a 

tl am all Thine, and all that belongs to me Is Thine. 

189 



A Modern Martyr 

stranger, was let out of his cage, and allowed to walk 
in the garden, where he instantly made his confession, 
none of the guards having followed him. When Fr. 
Venard came back to his cage, Huong Mo'i made a 
fresh and a successful effort to amuse the assistants, 
during which time Father Thinh approached the cage, 
as if for the purpose of examining it, and said a few 
words in a low voice to Fr. Venard, giving him abso- 
lution. Then he walked quietly away. Your poor 
brother gave them all some tea afterwards, and took 
leave of Father Thinh, who had brought the Blessed 
Sacrament, which he left with the devout widow, of 
whom I have spoken, who brought It to Fr. Venard 
in the evening, concealed in some bread. He there- 
fore could enjoy the presence of our dear Lord till 
midnight, after which he communicated. In a letter 
to Bp. Jeantet, of the 20th January, Theophane writes 
with emotion, — 

" 'Father Thinh will tell you of his visit, when I 
gave him some tea in the midst of all the crowd. He 
brought me, on the other hand, the Bread of the trav- 
eller, — ^^Mi Jesus, Deiis 7neus/''\ in my cage ! Think 
of that!' Then he goes on to say, T have not re- 
ceived a single stroke of the knout. I have received 
very little insult, and much sympathy; no one here 
wishes me to die. The people of the household of the 
great mandarin are kindness itself to me. I have suf- 
fered nothing in comparison with my brethren. I 
have only to lay my head quietly on the block, under 
the axe of the executioner, and at once I shall find 
myself in presence of Our Lord, saying, ''Here am I, 
O Lord ! Thy little martyr !" I shall present my palm 

tMy Jesus, my God. 
190 



Theophane Vetiard 

to Our Lady, and say, ''Hail, Mary ! my Mother and 
my Mistress, all hail !" And I shall take my place in 
the ranks of the thousands killed for the holy name of 
Jesus ; and I shall intone the eternal Hosanna ! 
Amen.' 

"I enclose the last letters, written to you all, which 
are of the same date as mine, and which it is impos- 
sible, I think, for any one to read unmoved." 

"J. M. J.t 

"From my Cage, Kecho, 

"Jcmuary 20, 1861. 
''My dearest, much honored, and much 
LOVED Father, — As my sentence is still delayed, I 
will send you one more word of farewell, which will 
probably be the last. These last days in my prison 
pass quietly; all who surround me are civil and re- 
spectful and a good many love me. From the great 
mandarin down to the humblest private soldier, every 
one regrets that the laws of the country condemn me 
to death. I have not been put to the torture like my 
brethren. A slight sabre-cut will separate my head 
from my body, like the spring flower, which the Mas- 
ter of the Garden gathers for His pleasure. We are 
all flowers planted on this earth, which God gathers 
in His own good time; some a little sooner, some a 
little later. One is as the blushing rose, another the 
virginal lily, a third the humble violet. Let us each 
strive to please Our Sovereign Lord and Master ac- 
cording to the gift and the sweetness which He has 
bestowed upon us. I wish you, my dearest father, a 
long, happy, and peaceful old age, and that you may 



tJesus, Mary, Joseph. 
191 



A Modern Martyr 

bear the cross of life with Jesus unto the Calvary of 
a happy death. Father and son, may we meet in 
paradise. I, poor little moth, go first. Adieu! 
"Your devoted and dutiful son, 

'Theophane Venard, Miss. Apost." 

^7. M. J. 

"From my Cage, in Tong King^ 

''January 20, 1861. 

"My dearest Sister, — I wrote, some days ago, a 
general letter to the family, which I hope has reached 
you, and in which I gave all the details of my capture 
and interrogatory. Now, as my last hour is approach- 
ing, I want to send you, my darling sister and friend, 
a special word of love and farewell. For our hearts 
have been one from our childhood. You have never 
had a secret from me, nor I from you. When, as a 
school-boy, I used to leave home for college, it was 
my little Melanie who prepared my box, and softened 
with her tender words the pain of parting. It was 
you who shared in the sorrows and joys of my col- 
lege life; it was you who strengthened my vocation 
for the foreign missions. It was with you, dearest 
Melanie, that I passed that solemn night of the 26th 
of February, 1851, which was our last meeting upon 
earth, and which we spent in a conversation so full 
of intimate thoughts and feelings of sympathy and 
holy hope, that it reminded me of the farewell of St. 
Benedict and St. Scholastica. 

"And when I crossed the seas, and came to water 
with sweat and blood, this Annamite country, your 
letters were my strength, my joy, and my consola- 
tion. It is then only fair that, in this last hour, your 

192 



w 







'^MELANIE," 
A Nun at Amiens. 



Theophane Venard 

brother should think of you, and send to you a few 
final words of love and never-dying remembrance. 
... It is midnight. Around my wooden cage I see 
nothing but banners and long sabres. In one corner 
of the hall, where my cage is placed, a group of 
soldiers are playing at cards; another group at 
'draughts.' From time to time the sentries strike 
the hours of night on their drums or 'tom-toms.' 
About two feet from my cage, a feeble oil-lamp throws 
a vacillating light on this sheet of Chinese paper and 
enables me to trace these few lines. 

''From day to day I expect my sentence. Perhaps to- 
morrow I shall be led to execution. Happy death, 
which conducts me to the portals of eternal life ! Ac- 
cording to all human probability, I shall be beheaded; 
a glorious shame, of which Heaven will be the price! 
At this news, darling sister, you will shed tears, — but 
they should be of joy! Think of your brother, with 
the aureole of the martyrs, and bearing in his hand 
the palm of victory ! Only a few short hours, and my 
soul will quit this earth, — will finish her exile, — will 
have done with the fight. I shall mount upwards and 
reach our own true home. There, in that abode of 
God's elect, I shall see what the eyes of man cannot 
imagine ; hear harmonies which his ear cannot dream 
of now; enjoy a happiness which it has never en- 
tered into his heart even to conceive! 

''But before arriving at all this, the grain of wheat 
must be ground, — the bunch of grapes must be trod- 
den in the wine-press. May I become only pure bread 
and wine, fit for the Master's use! I hope for this, 
through the mercies of my Saviour and Redeemer, 
through the protection of His Immaculate Mother. So 
I venture, while still in the arena, and in the midst of 

193 



A Modern Martyr 

the fight, to intone the hymn of triumph, as if I were 
sure of victory. And you, my dearest sister, I leave 
you in the field of virtues and good works. Reap a 
great harvest of these for the eternal life which awaits 
us both. Gather faith, hope, charity, patience, gentle- 
ness, sweetness, perseverance, and a holy death; and 
we shall be together, now and for evermore. Good-bye, 
my Melanie! Good-bye, my loved sister! Adieu! 
Your devoted brother, 

J. T. Venard, Miss. Apost." 

"J. M. J. 

January 20, 1861. 

My Dearest Henry, — I must send you also a few 
lines of brotherly love and farewell. You were very 
young when we parted, and a stranger to the world 
and its pleasures. Ah! the heart of man is too large 
to be satisfied with the deceptive and passing joys here 
below, and I know you will not seek happiness where 
it is not to be found. My dearest Henry, you are now 
twenty-nine, the age of manhood. Be, then, a man. 
Do not waste your life in the frivolities of the world. 
To resist one's evil inclinations, to watch against the 
snare of the Evil One, and to practise one's religion — 
is to be really a man; not to do so, is to be less than 
one. I write these words to you at a solemn moment. 
In a few hours — at most, in a few days — I shall be 
put to death for the faith in Christ Jesus. Yes, my 
own dear brother, I die with the conviction that you 
will always love God, as you have loved Him in your 
childhood. He is the God of your fathers, the 
God of those who have given you life, the God of your 
brothers and sister. He is the God whom the greatest 
intellects humanity has ever known have served, wor- 

194 



Theophane Venard 

shipped and adored. He is the great and merciful 
God, the God who helps us to do right, and keeps us 
from evil — the God who alone will reward or punish 
us eternally. 

"Read these words often; it is your best friend, 
your poor brother Theophane, who has written them. 
I leave to you the care of our dear father and sister. 
Be a good son and a good brother ; a good Christian, 
in life and in death! Good-bye, dearest brother. 
Come and meet me in Heaven. One who loves you, 
Theophane Venard, Miss. Apost." 

^7- M. J. 

January 20, 1861. 

"My Much-loved one^ — If I did not write you a 
few lines for your very own self, you would be jeal- 
ous, and I admit, with reason. You deserve it, too,^ 
for your many lengthy and interesting letters to me. 
It is very long since I have heard from you now ; and 
perhaps you are already a priest? and — who knows? 
perhaps a missionary? However that may be, by the 
time you receive this letter your brother will be no 
longer in this bad world, totus in maligno positiis. He 
will have left it for a better one, where you must 
strive to rejoin him some day. Your brother's head 
will have fallen, and every drop of his blood will have 
been poured out for God. He will have died a martyr ! 
That was the dream of my youth! When, as a little 
man nine years old, I used to take my pet goat to 
browse on the slopes of Bel-Air, I used to devour 
the life and the death of the venerable Charles Cornay, 
and say to myself, 'And I, too, will go to Tonquin. 
And I, too, will be a martyr!' Oh, admirable thread 
of Divine Providence, which has guided me through 

195 



A Modern Martyr 

the labyrinth of this life to the very mission of Ton- 
quin and to martyrdom! Bless and praise our good 
and merciful God with me, dearest Eusebius, who has 
taken such care of his miserable little servant. At- 
traxit me J miser ans mei!'\ 

''Dear Eusebius, I have loved and still love these 
Annamite people with an ardent affection. If God 
had given me a long life, I would gladly have sacri- 
ficed every moment of it, body and soul, to the build- 
ing up of this Tonquinese Church. The people are 
so good, so fervent, so loyal ! If my health, feeble 
as a reed, did not enable me to do great things, at 
least I had my heart in the work. Man proposes, and 
God disposes : life and death are in His hand. As for 
us, if He gives us life, let us live for Him; if death, 
then let us die for Him. 

"And for you, dearest little brother, still so young 
in years, you will remain long after me, fighting 
among the waves of this troublesome world. Guide 
your ship well. Let prudence take the helm, humility 
the rudder ; God be your compass, Mary your anchor 
of hope. And then, in spite of the disgust and bitter- 
ness which, like a howling sea, will sometimes over- 
whelm you, never be cast down. Have confidence in 
God, and, like Noah's ark, swim always above the 
waters My lamp gives no more light. Good- 
bye, my Eusebius, until the day when you come to 
rejoin me in Heaven. Your most affectionate brother, 

"J. T. Venard, Miss. Apost.'' 

These letters were accompanied by a note from Bp. 
Theurel, detailing the consummation of the sacrifice, 
as follows: — 

tHaving mercy on me He has drawn me to Himself. 

196 



Theophane Venard 

''The 1st of February, Fr. Venard wrote another 
Httle note, which reached me only after his martyrdom. 
He says, — 

'' The days of my pilgrimage lengthen strangely. 
The prefect is astonished that my sentence should be 
so long delayed. All the despatches from the king 
pass before my cage. Each time I ask if my sentence 
of death is come. Each time the post-boy answers, 
'No.' I hail each morning as the dawn of eternity, 
but evening comes, and I am still here. My reason 
and my heart announce to me daily the approach of 
death, but sometim.es I have presentiments that the 
answer will not be death; I try to put this thought 
from me as a snare of the devil. Still the suspense is 
trying. Adieu, dear and loved Bishop. Will it be my 
last good-bye ? — who knows ? May the will of God be 
done, and not mine !' 

"This farew^ell was really to be the last. During the 
night of February the 2nd the desired sentence ar- 
rived at last; but Fr. Venard knew it not. At two 
o'clock in the morning he breakfasted as usual and 
was allowed to go into the garden. The widow^ 
Nghien, having followed him stealthily, said, in a low 
voice, 'Father, you are to be executed to-day.' And 
because your brother doubted, since he had been told 
that he was to be taken to the king, she added, 'It is 
quite certain. Already the elephants are ordered and 
the soldiers are ready; in a few moments you will be 
led to execution.' Fr. Venard hastily returned to his 
cage to distribute his little effects among his friends. 
At this moment an old lady name Xin arrived, bearing 
the Blessed Sacrament to the prisoner of Jesus Christ. 
It was the fourth time that Father Thinh had managed 
to convey to him the Bread of Life. This pious lady, 

197 



A Modern Martyr 

seeing that his moments were counted, pressed through 
the crowd of soldiers to the cage, and succeeded in 
putting into his hand the tiny box which contained the 
Sacred Host. But it was too bold a movement. No 
sooner had the poor missionary received the treasure 
than the soldiers threw themselves upon him, dragged 
the pyx from him by main force, and gave it to their 
captain. Fr. Venard, forgetting every thing in his 
terror lest the Body of our Lord should be profaned, 
cried out to the widow Nghien, 'They have carried off 
my Viaticum!' The courageous widow ran to the 
captain who carried the box and told him that this 
mysterious wafer was not, as he imagined, a poison to 
accelerate death and to anticipate the ends of justice, 
but a food for the passage from this life to another, 
and she added, with a tone of conviction. ^If you ven- 
ture to touch this Viaticum you and all your family 
will die suddenly.' 

*^The captain, not knowing what to think of it all, 
timidly gave back the box to the widow, who, on ac- 
count of the tumult, could not pass it to Fr. Venard. 
She returned the pyx therefore to Mdlle. Xin, who 
sorrowfully, though safely, took it back to .Father 
Thinh. 

^'In the meantime, the mandarin had summoned the 
missionary to hear his sentence and to be sent to exe- 
cution. Fr. Venard had prepared for himself a special 
dress for this day of his nuptials, a garment of white 
cotton covered with a long robe of black silk. Having 
put it on, he calmly appeared before the mandarins, 
and when the sentence of his death had been pro- 
nounced, he took up his parable, and made a little 
speech. This was a formal declaration that he had 
come to this country only to teach the true religion, 

198 



Theophane Venard 

and that he was going to die for the same cause. He 
ended by saying to his judges, 'One day we shall 
meet each other again, at the tribunal of God/ The 
mandarin of justice rose hastily and exclaimed, 'I will 
have no insolence !' The convoy was ordered to start 
at once. It was composed of two elephants and two 
hundred soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant-colonel. 
Fr. Venard began to sing Latin psalms and hymns as 
the procession passed through the town. The place of 
execution was about half an hour from the mandarin's 
house, and when they had arrived, the soldiers formed 
a great circle to keep back the crowd, which was 
enormous; but the courageous widow Nghien broke 
through their ranks and at last obtained permission to 
remain with the missionary to the end. 

^Tr. Venard, with a calm and even joyous coun- 
tenance, looked all over the crowd, hoping to see 
Father Tinh, and to receive a last absolution. But 
this poor priest, not knowing that the order for exe- 
cution had been given, could not arrive in time. Your 
brother, having given his sandals to the faithful 
widow, sat quietly on his mat. They took off his 
chain, and with a hammer loosened the nails which 
fastened the ring about his neck and ankles. Then the 
soldiers pushed all, even the poor widow, outside the 
circle. 

"The executioner was a hideous hunchback, called 
Tue, once a soldier, now a buffoon. He had already 
decapitated four of our priests on the 25th of March, 
i860, and had begged to be allowed to perform this 
horrible office that he might have the martyr's clothes. 
He began by asking, as of an ordinary criminal, what 
he would give him to be executed promptly and well. 
The answer he received was, 'The longer it lasts the 

199 



A Modern Martyr 

better it zvill be!' Seeing that Fr. Venard's clothes 
were new and clean, his whole anxiety was to get them 
without any stains of blood. He therefore begged his 
victim to strip ; and, as this first invitation remained 
unheeded, he added, with barbarous ingenuity, 'You 
are to be lang-tri/ that is, to have all the members 
cut off at the joints and the trunk sawn into four parts. 
Our dear missionary, either because he believed the 
lie, or to experience more fully the humiliation of our 
Saviour, who before His crucifixion bore similar treat- 
ment, perhaps also to get rid of the importunities of 
this vile hunchback, took off all his clothes except 
his trousers. His elbows were then tightly tied be- 
hind his back, forcing him to hold up his head for the 
fatal stroke, and he was fastened to a stake badly fixed 
in the ground. In this position, at a given signal, Fr. 
Venard received the first stroke — but it was simply a 
trial blow on the part of the merciless executioner, 
and did not enter the flesh deeply. The next stroke, 
more vigorously applied, cut the head nearly off, the 
stake and the victim falling together. Then the exe- 
cutioner, finding his sword blunt, took another, and 
hacked at the neck, while indignant murmurs rose 
from the crowd. 

Then seizing the fallen head by the ear, he held it 
up to the lieutenant-colonel who presided at the tor- 
ture. This officer, having desired the municipal au- 
thorities to keep watch for three days, during which 
time the head was to be exposed, instantly sounded 
the retreat and marched his troops back to their 
quarters. All this time the poor widow Nghien and 
many other women were bewailing as if at the death 
of their first-born. No sooner had the troops left the 
ground than these women and a crowd of sympa- 

200 



Theophane Venard 

thizers precipitated themselves on the spot to soak 
their handkerchiefs and papers in the martyr's blood; 
and they showed such ardour that not a blade of grass 
was left in the place. The execution had not occurred 
in the usual place. The great mandarin desired to 
have the missionary decapitated on the edge of the 
river, so that the head might be thrown into it with 
greater ease after the exposition. For this reason 
many of the curious, and likewise of the faithful, had 
taken the wrong road, among the rest a good pagan 
who had arranged for the burial of the body ; so that 
although the execution was at eight in the morning, 
at midday the body still remained extended on the 
sand, covered with a mat. Then, a bier having been 
brought down the stream, everything was prepared 
for the interment. Besides the family of this faithful 
pagan, named Huong-Da, the widow Nghien, who 
had not left the remains for an instant, was present. 
The body was also guarded by a former Christian 
mayor, named Ly-Vung, and a devout Catholic boat- 
man from the southern district of Tonquin. This last 
had the delicacy to wrap the martyr's body in his own 
coat which he took off for that purpose. The whole 
was afterwards wrapt in a cotton sheet, tightly bound- 
with three linen bands, and, placed in a coffin, was 
buried only a foot deep so as to be the more readily 
disinterred. The head had been put in a little wooden 
box at the top of a pole. The mayor Ly-Vung had 
one made exactly similar, hoping to substitute one for 
the other, and thus to get possession of the precious 
relics. But it was found impossible to cheat the vigi- 
lance of the guards. We had then to resort to an- 
other expedient. The gaoler, charged with the care of 
the head, was promised a silver bar if he would let us 

201 



A Modern Martyr 

throw it into the river in our own way. This man, 
nothing loth, came at night on the fourth day, to facil- 
itate the matter. But God permitted our plans to be 
upset by a little mandarin of Balliage, a young wolf 
of twenty-three, whose only idea of government was 
to devour his people, — his royal blood enabling 
him to do this with impunity. This man sent one of 
his household to superintend the projection of the head 
into the water. Our old friend, Huong-Moi, had fas- 
tened a fish-hook in the ear, with two hundred yards 
of line and a floater, and persuaded the mayor to throw 
all together into the river, thinking that the float 
would enable us to discover it easily on the morrow. 
But the frightened mayor threw the head in without 
detaching the line from the boat, and after pulling a 
few strokes, the head naturally following, on the 
alarm that the mandarin was coming, he shook the line 
violently, the hook got loose, and the head sunk to 
the bottom of the stream. All our endeavors to re- 
cover it the next day were in vain. But God managed 
it for us in another way. On the 15th of February 
some Pagan friends of Ly-Vung, rowing down the 
stream, perceived something floating on the water 
about four leagues from the place of execution. They 
took it up and found it to be our dear martyr's head. 
The good mayor, Ly-Vung, hastened to take it to his 
house, and sent for Father Thinh who instantly rec- 
ognized it. They wrapped it carefully in a white silk 
bag and placed it in a vase, which they sealed with 
tar. The good priest having sent me word of what 
had occurred, I desired him to bring the head to me, 
and the precious relic arrived on the 24th of February. 
I opened the vase in the presence of five witnesses: 
the head was incorrupt. I took the little white bag in 

202 



Theophane Venard 

which Ly-Vung had enveloped it, and in which it had 
been for nine days ; from the right ear I took out the 
fish-hook which Huong-Mo'f had fastened in it and 
which had remained with about an inch of the line. 
It had made a wide opening in the ear as by a violent 
wrench. The condition of the flesh around the ear 
showed how it had been hacked by the inhuman exe- 
cutioner. I cut off some of the hair with my scissors, 
keeping five or six locks for his family. I tearfully 
turned this much-loved head in my hands, and finally 
replaced it in its urn, and deposited it in a neighbor- 
ing house at the earnest entreaty of the inhabitants ; 
finding it impossible at present to do with safety what 
I had wished, namely, to reunite the head to the other 
members. For this we must wait for a time of peace." 

Bp. Jeantet, imder the impression that the martyr's 
father was still alive, wrote to comfort him, and de- 
clared that Theophane, by his great merits, had well 
deserved the martyr's palm; adding that the Blessed 
Virgin, to whom he had ever been so tenderly devoted, 
had thus glorified him in the eyes of the whole world. 

Bp. Theurel added in conclusion: 

"My dear friends, shall I say that we are rejoiced 
or afflicted at your dear brother's glorious end? In 
one sense we all rejoice at his triumph, blessing and 
praising God for His choice ; but for my own part, I 
cannot help feeling deeply the separation which has 
taken place. I am still quite young : the same age as 
our dear Theophane; our warm friendship and en- 
tire conformity of views on all points, made him a 
powerful auxiliary in all my labours, and a sharer in 
all the cares and anxieties of the future. Your brother 
was at least one-half of my strength and of my cour- 
age. He had the greatest prudence and wisdom, 

203 



A Modern Martyr 

united with a burning love and zeal; it seemed as if 
he and I together could do great things in this Ton- 
quin vine3^ard; but alone, how shall I get on? His 
departure has cast me down terribly and has upset all 
my hopes and plans. I have cried for him bitterly, 
and shall cry still more, whatever people may say! I 
have said that he had an immense zeal for souls ; also, 
though his health was more delicate than that of any 
other missionary in the diocese, he did more work than 
anybody else, passing half the night, and sometimes 
the whole day besides, in the confessional. His con- 
fidence in God was boundless and made him bold al- 
most to a fault in his undertakings. While he was 
working so admirably at Ke-Beo in June, I wrote him 
that he must take greater precautions, for the heavens 
were big with clouds. He answered me with that 
holy boldness which was one of his characteristics, 
that not a hair of his head would fall tmless by the 
will of God. In truth, our Lord had determined the 
hour of his martyrdom, and his happy fate was fore- 
told him in 1 85 1. 

''He was a wonderful linguist, and had completely 
mastered the difficult Annamite dialect. He translated 
the 'Concordantia Evangelica' of M. Migne into good 
Annamite, as well as the Acts of the Apostles. He had 
just completed the translation of the Epistles and of 
the Apocalypse ; and was in the midst of an abridged 
Commentary from that of Picquigny, when he was 
arrested. These two last translations, of which no one 
had a copy, have, to my great despair, been burnt, not 
by the chief who took him prisoner, but by the Chris- 
tians of Ke Beo, whose fears had really troubled their 
reason. Another of our Christian missions has been 
more faithful to the memory of our dear brother. I 

204 



Theophane Venard 

mean that of But-Dong, where he Hved for eighteen 
months with Fr. Saiget. This whole parish has been 
for more than a year in open war with the mandarin, 
Nam-Xang, whom your brother reproached so vehe- 
mently from his cage. This functionary came himself 
to But-Dong to force the people to trample the cross 
under foot; but the whole population having unani- 
mously refused to apostatize, he was forced to yield 
to the resistance of 1800 men; and although since 
then he has issued edict after edict, he has done noth- 
ing but lose both his time and his trouble . 

Bp. Jeantet had expressed the wish that when the 
time came for the re-establishment of the seminary, 
Theophane would become Professor of Theology. 
T hoped so much,' writes his Grace, 'from his 
wonderful piety, zeal, and science. But the Sovereign 
Arbiter of all things has decided otherwise — '^Fiat 
voluntas tna/ " The faithful widow Nghien,'' con- 
tinues Bp. Theurel, ''brought back the clothes and 
chain of our dear brother and handed everything 
over to us. A little later we hope to send to Paris the 
chain, the little bag, and the fishhook of which I have 
spoken, together with the hair, one or two autograph 
letters of the martyr, and the linen soaked with his 
blood. 

"The ring which went about the neck is wanting 
to the chain, having been appropriated by the brother 
of the mandarin, as also one of the foot rings. I will 
forward to you, my dear Eusebius, as well as to M. 
Henry and Mdlle. Melanie, your portion of his hair, 
and of the linen soaked with his blood. I do not send 
these things to-day, as my parcel is already too heavy ; 
I must wait for the next time. A little later I hope 
also to send you each some little remembrance chosen 

205 



A Modern Martyr 

from among his effects. Bp. Jeantet and I — and I 
doubt not all our brethren — will consent that his pre- 
cious martyr's chalice shall pass into your hands.^ 

''The catechist, Khang, who was seized with your 
brother, was exiled into the province of H6ng-H6a, 
which belongs to the Western Vicariate. But before 
starting, he was allowed to go and venerate the head 
of his spiritual father, which was still exposed. This 
was on the 4th of February. The chief of the Canton 
Do, in addition to the recompense of thirty bars given 
by the king, received four bars from the mandarin 
prefect, and has been created a mandarin of the ninth 
class. 

"After the martyrdom of your dear brother, I learnt 
the news of your father's death, so that I do not ad- 
dress this letter to him, but to you all. . . . '\Beati qui 
lavant stolas suas in sanguine AgniT 

{Note of the FamilyK — Bp. Theurel wrote as follows 
on the 25th of March, 1865, on the subject of the 
relics, to M. I'Abbe Eusebius Venard, curate of the 
Cathedral at Poitiers: — ''The whole of your dear 
brother's body, except the head, arrived at Hong Kong 
on the 1st of March, and started for France by the 
ship 'St. Vincent de Paul.' It will arrive at the end of 
August or in the beginning of September, by Nantes. 
With the body I have sent the chalice and other pre- 
cious remembrances." 



*The letters written from the cage by Theophane Venard to the 
family are today hanging on the wall of the guest's room In 
the presbytery at Assai. In one corner of this room is a cabinet, 
a family heirloom, in which Father Eusebius keeps the mar- 
tyr's chalice and many other souvenirs. 

The chain is in a cabinet devoted to Theophane Venard in the 
Hall of Martyrs at the Missions Etrangeres in Paris. 

tBlessed are they who have washed their stoles in the blood of 

the Lamb. 

206 



Theophane Venard 

"In the same cover, Bp. Theurel, foreseeing our im- 
patience, sent us each a portion of his reHcs, contained 
in three Httle packets, sealed with the Episcopal Seal, 
and marked with the following inscriptions, written 
in the Bishop's own hand: — Hair of M. T. Venard. 
Linen imbued with his blood. Small bones, carti- 
lages, nails, etc") 



207 



A Modern Martyr 



CHAPTER XV. 
First Anniversary and Retrospect. 

The official news of Theophane Venard's martyr- 
dom did not arrive in France till the end of December, 
1 86 1, nearly eleven months after the event. The 
Bishop of Poitiers at once resolved to hold a feast in 
honor of one whom his hand had led into the sanc- 
tuary, and who had become the glory of his diocese 
by the heroic confession of faith and the shedding of 
blood for Jesus Christ. 

The feast was fixed for Sunday, the 2nd of Febru- 
ary, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and the 
anniversary of the martyrdom. The bishop came to 
preside at the ceremony in the church of St. Loup, 
the native parish of our hero. He was accompanied 
not only by the members of his own chapter, but by 
about a hundred priests, friends or companions of 
Theophane, including the Abbe Dallet — who had been 
compelled from bad health to return to France for a 
few months — and the superior of the Seminary of 
Foreign Missions at Paris. 

After the Mass, the bishop preached with such fer- 
vour and emotion that the whole audience was in tears. 
Yet there was nothing sad about the festival. As a 
priest who was present said, 'Tn each martyr, grace 
assumes a different character. In Theophane it was 

208 




INTERIOR OF PARISH CHURCH, 

At St. Loup. 



Theophane Venard 

an indomitable serenity, a joyous calm which nothing 
could disturb. One may say of him as the English 
do of one of their poets, 'He was born with a rose-bud 
on his lips and a bird to sing in his ear :' So graceful 
was his imagery, so melodious his words. His natural 
sweetness spread a charm over everything and every 
one with whom he came in contact. Even at the last 
moment of his life he poured it out on those who 
pressed around his cage, on the instrument of his tor- 
ture, on the very earth which was to drink his blood. 
We feel as if the fatal blow which severed that dear 
and honoured head were only as the pressure which 
separates from its stalk the fair flower which is to 
adorn the altar.'' This joyous calm in the martyr's 
character, so well known to his parents and towns- 
people, had coloured the festival held- in his honor. 
Nothing spoke of death; but every thing breathed 
hope and life. 

His father's house was decked with flowers that 
day as on a marriage feast; and at the breakfast 
given by his brothers, the room was hung with fes- 
toons and garlands, and the martyr's monogram, en- 
twined with palm branches and crowns. 

Mdlle. Melanie Venard assisted at the feast. She 
had now followed her heart's desire, so often talked 
over with her martyred brother, and had taken the 
veil in the Convent of the Holy Family, under the 
name of "Sister Theophane." 

Towards the end of dinner, the Abbe Chauvin, 
curate of St. Jacques de Chatellerault, read a hymn in 
honour of the martyr, the graceful and tender poetry 
of which provoked murmurs of approbation from the 
bishop and all the assembled company. Between the 
services, a large number of Theophane's old friends 

209 



A Modern Martyr 

made a pilgrimage to the grassy hill-sides of Bel-Air, 
where the first inspiration for the foreign missions had 
come into his childish heart. 

The wax taper carried by the bishop on that occa- 
sion, and ornamented with palms, was laid by his 
desire as a memorial in the parish church, and by its 
side hangs a square frame containing an autograph 
letter of the martyr, written with a paint brush in his 
cage. 

And now- that we have followed Theophane Venard 
from his birth to his death, is our interest in him 
entirely at an end ? If our minds have been for a short 
time turned from frivolous thoughts to the contem- 
plation of a life so pure, so holy, so single-minded in 
the dedication of all its gifts and powers to God, will 
it not have some influence, some effect on our future 
conduct ? 

We feel confident that our Lord will not allow so 
eminent an example to pass unheeded, and that already 
this martyr's words have kindled in other souls a like 
burning love and zeal for the conversion of the 
heathen. Scarcely had Theophane Venard reached 
Tonquin when his letters began to fire the ambition of 
friends and companions, determining them to share 
in his apostolic labors for the foreign missions. We 
trust that on those who read this little book a like im- 
pression may be made : that if all cannot actually take 
part in the missionary's life, they may at least help 
others to do so by propagating the works of the for- 
eign missions to the utmost of their power in the circle 
of their own homes. 

At the Congress of Malines a noted Catholic 
orator, M. Augustin Cochin, after having pro- 
nounced an eloquent discourse on the progress of 

210 



Theophane Venard 

science and arts from the religious point of view, 
quoted a letter of Theophane Venard to enforce his 
arguments, and to induce the eminent men who lis- 
tened to him to join in a series of resolutions, of which 
the first was, ''To labor incessantly for the Propaga- 
tion of the Faith among the Heathen'' He went on 
to say, 'T cannot understand that any true Catholic 
should refuse to work energetically for the main- 
tenance of those model men amongst us, who go forth 
to regions where the Gospel is unknown and seal the 
truth with their blood. Their words breathe a faith 
and an ardent charity of which their lives and their 
deaths are the proof. . . . 

**I was struck the other day by an unexpected coin- 
cidence between the letters of two men to their sis- 
ters, both delicate and sincere, both written in pres- 
ence of the tomb, one by a brother to his sister who 
is dead, the other to his sister by a brother about to 
die. The former was from a man, but too well known, 
who, searching in his heart for what was purest and 
best, could speak only of 'refined doubts,' 'delicate 
questions,' 'tears mingled by the women of old with 
the waves of Biblos,' 'the mysteries of Adonis,' .... 
and thus he writes to her whom he calls his 'good 
genius !' The other was written at midnight by a pris- 
oner from his cage on the eve of martyrdom, on the 
20th of January, only two years ago, at the very mo- 
ment, gentlemen, when some of us were probably at 
a ball ." . . . He then read aloud the letter to Me- 
lanie, and added, "Gentlemen, between these two let- 
ters of Renan and Theophane Venard, between the 
two doctrines which they inspire, between the two 
states of mind which they reveal, my choice is made ; 
Gentlemen, I earnestly recommend to yon the work of 
the propagation of the Faith T 

211 



A Modern Martyr 

The whole Congress was moved by these eloquent 
words ; and the letter, which M. Cochin termed "One 
of the most beautiful pages in the History of the Mar- 
tyrs of the Nineteenth Century/' produced in the 
hearts of his 3000 auditors an emotion which bore 
immediate fruit, for the next day the orator received, 
among other offerings, without any signature or sign 
of the donor, a bank note of 1000 francs for the For- 
eign Mission Seminary. 

Let us hope that this generous heart may find its 
imitators; and that this humble biography, however 
feebly executed, may move other Christian souls to 
come forward and help in this great work. 



Retrospect. 



When the storm of persecution which marked the 
death of Theophane Venard had spent itself, it was 
found that, between the years 1857-1862, in the vari- 
ous parts of Tonquin and Cochin China 117 priests 
were martyred. In addition to these, 115 Annamite 
priests — one third of the native clergy of Annam — 
poured out their blood for Jesus Christ. Eighty con- 
vents were destroyed and 2,000 Annamite nuns dis- 
persed, 100 of whom gave up their lives for the faith. 
All the colleges were closed and most of the catechists 
and pupils arrested. The more prominent among the 
native Christians, to the number of about 10,000, were 
also put in prison. Of these, more than 5,000 died 
for the faith, — some being decapitated after regular 
trial; others burned in groups, buried alive or 

212 



Theophane Venard 

drowned. In Tonquin, the mandarins, foreseeing that 
liberty would soon be proclaimed, cut off completely 
the supply of food and many died of starvation. 

A period of peace followed in Tonquin, with occa- 
sional threatenings, until 1882, when Father Bechel 
was beheaded with his catechists and his flock. The 
royal council then considered a general massacre of 
all Catholic priests and people. The king, Tu-duc, the 
same under whom Theophane Venard was sentenced, 
opposed the movement. Shortly afterwards he died 
after a reign of 35 years, — a reign that had been often 
criminal and always unhappy. 

Another frightful massacre took place in 1885, cov- 
ering the whole region of Indo-China. In the mis- 
sion of Tonquin 163 churches were burned, 4,799 
Catholics were killed, and 1181 died of hunger and 
misery. 

To-day France is in peaceful possession of Tonquin 
and the great persecutions have ceased. The follow- 
ing statistics, supplied from the latest report of the 
Paris Seminary will be read with interest by the read- 
er who cannot fail to see here again exemplified the 
well known axiom of Tertullian, — "Sanguis martyrum 
semen Christianorum." The blood of martyrs is the 
seed of Christians. 

Tonquin in 1905. 

Catholics 362,810 

Churches or chapels i>39i 

Bishops 4 

Missionaries (European) 146 

Native priests 231 

Catechists 904 

213 



A Modern Martyr 

Seminaries 6 

Students 906 

Community of men i 

Religious 16 

Communities of women 42 

Religious 717 

Adult Pagans baptized 3?796 

Children of pagans baptized in danger of 

death 36,796 

Children of Christians baptized 13,461 

Schools 1,167 

Pupils 26,358 

Orphanages and infant asylums 2,2 

Children in the same 1 1,274 

Dispensaries 41 

Hospitals 24 

The writer is now in occasional correspondence 
with a young missionary whom he met at the Paris 
Seminary two years ago and who has since been 
sent to Tonquin. Some months after his arrival this 
young priest wrote : 

'*It is a little more than a year since I announced 
to you my call to the priesthood and my approaching 
departure for the missions. The mission chosen for 
me is familiar to you through the life of the Venera- 
ble Theophane Venard, of whom wx spoke so much 
during your stay at the Missions Etrangeres, Paris." 

''Well, I am in the mission where so many martyrs 
have labored, — the mission of Tonquin. My joy, or 
rather our joy (for there are two of us — Father De 
Coomay and myself), was greater on our arrival, be- 
cause we had been a long time sighing for the day. 
In factj the voyage was not a very happy one. In 

214 



Theophane Venard 

place of thirty days, — the usual passage, — it took us 
forty-five days to get to Tonquin. We had two acci- 
dents to the machinery during the trip, and just as 
we were entering the Tonquin River our boat struck 
on a hidden ledge. 

''Happily the sea was calm and the day following 
the shipwreck a boat came to rescue us. There were 
no deaths to deplore, but a considerable portion of 
our baggage is at the bottom of the sea. I lost nearly 
all my books and many little souvenirs of home. 
Father De Coomay was no more fortunate than I. 
God evidently wished us to practise detachment from 
the things of this world as soon as we arrived here; 
We are thankful to have escaped, as the boat went to 
pieces soon after we left it. 

''On the boat were eight missionaries; two for 
Cochin China, and six for the three missions of Ton- 
quin. I am in the mission of Maritime Tonquin, with 
Father De Coomay for my companion. 

"At Phat Diem, where the Bishop lives, I was 
much pleased to meet the Venerable Theophane Ven- 
ard's catechist, that is to say, the native who taught 
the language to the martyr. He is very old and 
bears the signs of his religion. These are the marks 
which the pagans made on the countenances of Chris- 
tians at the time of persecution. The only occupation 
of the good old man is to prepare himself for death. 
He is always wrapped in silence, meditation and 
prayer. 

"In this mission of Maritime Tonquin, there are 
80,000 Christians. In the parish where I am there are 
more Christians than pagans, and they are fervent 
Christians. 

215 



A Modern Martyr 

''On last Corpus Christi we had a beautiful pro- 
cession. The Christians had worked many days to 
prepare a fitting passage, — triumphal arches, oriflames, 
etc, — nothing was wanting for the ceremony. Then 
came numerous fireworks, for no event can be sol- 
emnized here without fireworks. I have been deeply 
moved by the faith of these Christians, some of whom 
are descendants of the martyrs. They recite the 
prayers with loud voices. Just now I am studying the 
language. I have already preached several times but 
I cannot yet converse fluently with the natives. 

'T recommend myself and my mission to your 
prayers. "With kindest regards, I am 

''Most sincerely yours, 

"MATTHEW ROCHER, 
"Missionary Apostolic, 
July 7, 1905. "Phat Diem, Tonquin." 

These lines have a familiar ring. They bring back 
the earlier days of Theophane Venard, who after all 
was only one of many, — a type which is being perpet- 
uated in the Catholic Church. Today other young 
apostles are walking in the footsteps of Theophane 
Venard. These will follow the path marked out for 
them, and if necessary, they too will cheerfully bend 
their heads to receive the sabre-cut of the persecutor ; 
and when the tidings of their martyrdom will have 
reached the Mission house which nurtured them, a 
joyous hymn of praise will be sung, and that night in 
the dark silence of the sanctuary, scores of young as- 
pirants will pray with renewed fervor, each asking 
as a special favor, that he, too, may be fortunate 
enough to win the martyr's crown. 

The age of martyrs will never pass in the true 
Church of Jesus Christ. 

216 



Theophane Venard 



CHAPTER XVI. 
The After- Word. 

The reader will naturally wish to know what be- 
came of the several members of the Venard family, 
to each of whom in turn the martyr^s letters were 
addressed. 

In the editor's preface mention has already been 
made of Eusebius, today the beloved Cure of Assai. 
In the course of the narrative it has been learned that 
M. Venard, the father, died before receiving news of 
his son's martyrdom, and that Melanie — shortly after- 
wards — entered a religious order, "Les Religieuses 
d'Esperance. 

Melanie, Theophane's second self, as he often called 
her, has since gone to meet her saintly brother. She 
died in the convent at Amiens, in France. Henry mar- 
ried, but after a few^ years lost his wife and only child. 
Today, a veritable patriarch in appearance, bent and 
white with age beyond his years, Henry shares with 
Fr. Eusebius, the humble presbytery at Assai. Their 
housekeeper, a gentle townswoman from the old 
home at St. Loup, remembers Theophane when, as a 
boy of fourteen, he pastured his father's goats on the 
hill-side of Bel-Air. She recalls too his departure for 
the missions. In this simple household, aglow with 
the memory of a martyr and adorned with many sou- 
venirs of his life, the writer has spent happy and pro- 

217 



A Modern Martyr 

litable hours. Father Eusebius is still rugged in ap- 
pearance, although his health is not of the best. His 
mind is very active, however, and he has lately 
crowned the efforts of many months by the successful 
production of a martyr-play in honor of his venera- 
ble brother. 

This drama was enacted by the villagers of Assai 
in the spacious churchyard and drew a great assem- 
blage from the surrounding country. A letter received 
lately from Fn Eusebius, acknowledging some photo- 
graphs — the results, good, bad, and indifferent, of a 
forced atempt made by the writer during his latest vis- 
it to Assai — will throw light on this interesting cure, 
while it gives information about the little drama in 
which he is so deeply interested. The reader will 
remark that the saving sense of humor is not lacking 
in the brother of Theophane Venard. 

''Assai (by Airvault) Deux Sevres, France. 

''Oct. 2Z, 1905. 
Reverend and dear Father: 

"I have safely received your masterly efforts at 
photography, and I will wait to see if I do not get a 
second package. For a first attempt these are not a 
poor showing, we might even call them a success, 
especially the one in which I am posing at the door of 
my presbytery. 

However, as a rule, the views of the surrounding 
country are more pleasing than the portraits, which 
are a trifle dark. 

All who have recognized themselves have been 
delighted, even Kebis,t although seen from behind; 
his master is truly proud of his pose. But there has 
also been much dissatisfaction in feminine circles (al- 

fM. Henry's dog. 
218 




EUSEBIUS VfiNARD, CURE OF ASSAI. 



Theophane Venard 

ways inclined to jealousy), my housekeeper in the 
first rank, having failed to find her beautiful counte- 
nance. 

All the views of St. Loup are clear and distinct ex- 
cept our homestead which is a little dull. The views 
of Assai are equally beautiful, taken from various 
points. The main altar, the dining room and your 
bed room are excellent. 

My health is about as usual. I had some rather 
painful attacks in September and October, neverthe- 
less my work went on as usual. I have filled a large 
album with several letters of the dear martyr to pre- 
serve them as autographs, — about 400 pages, from the 
College of Doue, the seminary of Montmorillon, and 
the Grand Seminary of Poitiers. The following let- 
ters will fill two other albums. 

The drama, ''Captivity and Martyrdom," is not 
yet in press. It is extremely difficult to find an editor. 
I hope later, by Christmas at least, to have it pub- 
lished. 

They speak of printing at Hong Kong a selection 
of the letters of Ven. Theophane at the House of For- 
eign Missions of Nazareth. I will let you know about 
this later." 

Believe me always, dear friend 
Your very devoted and affectionate 

L. E. Venard." 

Fr. Eusebius never tires speaking of Theophane, 
and with the advancing years this one thought has 
become the strong undercurrent of his life. The 
writer has been told and has himself remarked that 
it is hardly possible for the faithful brother to con- 
verse on any subject longer than five minutes with- 
out referring to his beloved Theophane. 

219 



A Modern Martyr 

From time to time he visits the mission house in 
Paris where a warm welcome always awaits him. Oc- 
casionally too, he drives to St. Loup to call on M. le 
Cure, and to inspect the ''maison paternelle," which 
still remains the property of the family. Invariably 
before returning to Assai, Fr. Eusebius walks out 
through the village, across the Thouet to the hill-side 
of Bel Air, where this brother's Icve has erected a sim- 
ple monument to mark the spot where Theophane 
first received his call to be a martyr. 

A few yards from this monument, on a slight ele- 
vation, there has stood for many years, the stone 
apse of a Memorial Chapel. Two years ago Fr. Euse- 
bius pointed out to the writer this unfinished work, 
confessing, with a sigh, that the generosity of friends 
had failed him, and the chapel of which he had 
dreamed as a place of pilgrimage must wait for bet- 
ter times, or look to some other land for its realiza- 
tion. 

That evening as we sat in his poor dining room at 
Assai, a gleam of hope came into the old priest's eyes, 
and he said, 'Terhaps America will learn to love 
Theophane." 



Some Reflections. 

Let us hope that the wish of this dear brother may 
soon be fulfilled and that America will in truth learn 
to love Theophane Venard, — and not Theophane 
Venard alone, but the noble army of heroes and hero- 
ines, to whose company he belonged, and who in our 
own generation, are struggling for the cause of Christ 
in the far-away fields. 

220 



Theophane Venard 

English-speaking Catholics here in the United 
States and elswhere have been accused, perhaps 
justly, of indifference to foreign missions. This accu- 
sation is met with the excuse that we have had too 
much to do at home; but the true Catholic, whose 
heart is all-embracing like that of Christ, knows that 
ihe solid development of the Church at home will 
be helped rather than hindered, nay more, must de- 
pend upon our interest in its spread throughout the 
world. Love for the Church is like a flame which if 
confined will die. 

There is, indeed, much spiritual and material work 
to be done at home. There always will be ; but if we 
wait until every home need has been met, we must 
wait till the end of time. Whatever may be said of 
the past, we are certainly now in a position to con- 
tribute at least a breath of prayer, a mite of alms, and 
some missionaries — even though it be a proportion- 
ately small number — to the foreign missions. 

We should remember that as yet, notwithstanding 
the clear command of Christ, uttered 19 centuries ago, 
''Going, teach all nations, — preach the gospel to every 
creature." There are at this moment 1,000 millions, 
out of the earth's population of 1,500 million^ who do 
not know Jesus Christ. 

Remarkable progress has, it is true, been made in 
the last century towards the conversion of the world. 
This progress may be traced to the copious shedding 
of blood for Christ by men like Theophane Venard 
and their converts, and to the establishment of sys- 
tematic means of support for the missions, notably 
the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. As a 
result of these influences, spiritual and material, the 
Catholic Church today counts in the mission field, 

221 



A Modern Martyr 

about 15,000 priests, 5,000 Brothers, 45,000 Sisters, 
as against 1,000, all told, at the beginning of the last 
century. 

This progress, however, can hardly be credited to 
English-speaking Catholics. On the contrary, we in 
the United States must confess with our confreres 
in England, ''that as yet we have no heart for the 
heathen, and that our zeal for the honor of Gk)d and 
the salvation of souls is less in proportion to numbers 
among us than among certain European Catholic peo- 
ples, upon whose shortcomings we are so ready to sit 
in judgment/'"^ 

These last words refer to our unhappy co-religion- 
ists in France, and the reader will more easily under- 
stand the allusion when he recalls that today, more 
than two thirds of all Catholic missionaries, and from 
one half to tzvo thirds of all monies subscribed to 
their sivpport, may he attributed to the generosity of 
the French people. If we must criticize the indiffer- 
ence of French Catholics, let us admit that the divine 
note of Catholicity in the true Church is due today 
largely to self-denying sons and daughters of France, 
whose sacrafices on the mission fields have won the 
plaudits of an admiring world, and will yet, we believe, 
by God's grace, enable her to triumph over present 
trials. 

Thank God, among the English-speaking people of 
the world there are signs of an awakening to the mis- 
sion needs. The apostolic zeal of the late Cardinal 
Vaughan has blessed England with her Missionary 
College at Freshfield and her Seminary for Foreign 
Missions at Mill Hill, so that to-day this Society, 

♦The Rev. Thos. Jackson at the Annual Conference of the Cath- 
olic Truth Society, held at Blackburn, England, in 1905. 

222 



Theophane Venard 

which the ChristHke heart of Cardinal Vaughan in- 
spired, has missions in the Punjab and Madras, in 
Borneo, New Zealand, Uganda and the Congo, — 
counting two Bishops and 154 priests. It is true that 
as yet only about one third of the Mill Hill mission- 
aries are of English-speaking origin; still this Semi- 
nary stands as a witness to the aspirations of far-see- 
ing CathoHcs in England and as an encouragement to 
the missionary spirit of her Catholic young men. 

In the United States we are without such a Semi- 
nary, and if we were asked to direct some young 
aspirant, whose generous heart prompts him ''to go 
the whole way,'' — to give up home and country for 
Jesus Christ, we should be at a loss to know where to 
guide his steps unless across the ocean to our breth- 
ren in England. We have reason to hope, however, 
that the day is not far distant when this present want 
will be supplied and in our own land the doors of a 
Seminary for Foreign Missions will be thrown open 
to our Catholic-hearted youth. 

This hope rests mainly on the awakening interest 
manifested by Catholics of the United States in the 
cause of foreign missions. The progress of the 
Society for the Propagation of the Faith among us, 
although not by any means wide-spread, has clearly 
proved that if Catholics in the United States are made 
sufficiently acquainted with the foreign mission need, 
their active sympathy will not be withheld. The 
Church in America is at heart Catholic in the full 
sense of the word, and this spirit will be increasingly 
evident as the leaders in Israel make known from the 
watch-towers the cries for help which come from our 
army beyond the frontiers. 

As the knowledge of Catholic missions develops 

223 



A Modern Martyr 

among us, the value of a missionary's sacrifice will be 
more fully appreciated, and we shall see in the Catho- 
lics of America constant proof of their devotion to 
such heroes as Theophane Venard, and to the sol- 
diers who today are struggling in martyrs' footsteps. 
The name of Theophane Venard will yet find its 
proper place in our affectionate remembrance, along- 
side of names which have been hallowed for centuries; 
and if our preference must manifest itself, we shall 
hardly be blamed if we turn to one who faced and 
conquered the trials of our own day, and who died 
for Christ, — A Modern Martyr, 

Jean Theophane Venard has been placed by 
the Church among the Venerable servants of God. 
It was his brother^s painstaking labor which prepared 
for Rome the process leading to this declaration, and 
the same brother's love unfolded the facts which 
have helped to bring to its present stage the Cause 
of Beatification. 

This Cause was introduced before the Congregation 
of Rites July 13th, 1879, by a decree of Leo the Thir- 
teenth, and on March 18, 1902, a second decree pro- 
claimed the authenticity of the apostolic process. 

Father Eusebius now awaits the final pronounce- 
ment which, he realizes, may not be made in his own 
lifetime. Let us hope, however, that the good Cure 
of Assai may yet be spared to hear his saintly brother 
saluted by the Church as Blessed, 

In the meantime, the Venerable Theophane Venard 
has already become to not a few, a special intercessor 
in Heaven. In the beautiful Hfe of Sister Therese, 
(which appears in English under the title "A Little 
Flower of Jesus"), there is striking evidence of the 

224 




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Theophane Venard 

young Carmelite's devotion to our martyr. ''I cannot 
look upon him/' said this holy nun, ''nor upon Our 
Lady, without shedding tears/' And again, "He is a 
little saint. There is nothing out of the common in his 
life. He loved the Immaculate Virgin very much; his 
family too. And so do I. I cannot understand those 
saints who did not." 

Sister Therese died in 1897 at the age of 24. She 
was one of five sisters, all of whom became nuns, 
daughters of M. and Mme. Martin, proprietors of the 
well known lace establishment at Alengon in France. 

The example of Sister Therese's devotion to the 
Venerable Theophane Venard has spread to many 
Carmelite communities and to several religious orders 
of men in which latter some of the younger novices 
have taken the name of Theophane. 

May this modern martyr inspire us all with deeper 
love for souls and obtain for some among us the 
blessed grace of a vocation; — if not to martyrdom, 
at least to the worldwide Apostolate. 




2 FL Vd E R, 1861 



225 



HYMN OF SISTER THERESE. 

To the Venerable Theophane Venard, Martyr. 
Translated by S. Lr. Emery. 

O Theophane, angehc martyr blest! 

All the elect to sing thy praise aspire ; 
And thee to hail, behold! there stand confest 

The seraphim, with love divine on fire. 
I, a poor exile still oh this dull earth, 

Can not with them my joyful song combine; 
Yet will I take my harp, and sing thy worth. 

And claim thee as a kindred soul to mine. 

Thy brief bright sojourn here was like a psalm 

Of heavenly melody, all hearts upraising; 
Thy love for Jesus brought forth flowers like balm, 

Through all thy life thy dearest Saviour praising. 
Writing thy farewell thy last earthly night, 

That farewell was a song of spring and love, 
'1, little butterfly, the first take flight, 

Of all our loved ones, to our home above." 

Thou, happy martyr! in the hour of death 

Didst taste the deep delight of suffering; 
Thou didst declare, e'en with thy dying breath. 

That it is sweet to suflfer for the King. 
When the stern headsman made thee offer fair 

Thy torture to abridge, how swift thy word: 
''Oh, blest am I my Master's cup to share ! 

Long let my suffering last with Christ my Lord !" 



226 



Virginal lily ! life had but begun, 

When Jesus heard thy loving heart's desire. 
I see in thee a flower whose race is run, 

Yet His hand plucked it but to lift it higher. 
And now, no longer, exile dost thou know; 

Thy ecstasy the Blest rejoice to see; 
That Rose of love, the Virgin white as snow, 

Rejoices in thy heavenly purity. 

Soldier of Christ! thy armor lend to me! 

For sinners' souls I long to give my life; 
For them to give my tears, my blood, like thee. 

Protect me then, and arm me for the strife! 
For them I fain would fight till life is done, 

God's kingdom take by force tl eir souls to save. 
''Not peace to earth I bring" (so spake God's Son), 

''But fire and sword I bring." Oh, saving glaive! 

How dear is now to me that pagan horde. 

The object of thy burning love below! 
If Jesus would to me that grace accord. 

Ah, thither with what ardor would I go. 
Before Him space and distance fade away, 

This earth is but a plaything on the breeze; 
My actions, my small sufferings to-day. 

Can make my Jesus loved beyond the seas. 

Oh, were I but a flower of springtime too, 

That soon the Lord would gather to His breast! 
Come down from heaven at my last hour anew, 

O Theophane, thou youthful martyr blest! 
Come, with the virginal flames of thy pure love. 

Come, to burn from my soul all earthly clay, 
That I may fly to heaven's courts above, 

And join thy cohort in unending day. 

227 



CHANT OF DEPARTURE. 

As sting at the Paris Seminary for Foreign Missions, 



Words by Fr. Dallet. 



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Qu'un souffle heureux vienne enfler votre voile, 
Amis, volez sur les ailes des vents, 
Ne craignez pas, Marie est votre etoile, 
Elle saura veiller sur ses enfants. 
Respecte, 6 mer! leur mission sublime, 
Garde-les bien, sois pour eux sans ecueil, 
Et sous ces pieds qu\m si beau zele anime, 
De tes flots abaisse Torgueil. 

Partez, amis, &c. 



230 



Hatez vos pas vers ces peuples immenses ; 
lis sont plonges dans une froide nuit, 
Sans verite, sans Dieu, sans esperances; 
Infortunes ! Tenfer les engloutit. 
Soldats du Christ ! soumettez-lui la terre, 
Que tons les lieux entendent votre voix, 
Portez partout la divine lumiere, 
Partout Tetendard de la croix. 

Partez, amis, &c. 



Empressez-vous dans la sainte carriere, 
Donnez a Dieu vos peines, vos sueurs, 
Vous soufifrirez, et votre vie entiere 
S'ecoulera dans de rudes labeurs. 
Peut-etre aussi, tout le sang de vos veines 
Sera verse; vos pieds, ces pieds si beaux, 
Peut-etre un jour seront charges de chaines, 
Et vos corps livres aux bourreaux. 



Partez, amis, &c. 



Partez, partez, car nos freres succombent, 
Le temps, la mort, ont decime leurs rangs ; 
Ne faut-il pas remplacer ceux qui tombent 
Sous le couteau de feroces tyrans? 
Heureux amis ! partagez leur victoire, 
Suivez tou jours les traces de leurs pas; 
Dieu vous appelle, et du sein de la gloire 
Nos martyrs vous tendent les bras. 

Partez, amis, &c. 



231 



Soyez remplis du zele apostolique ; 
La pauvrete, les travaux, les combats, 
La mort; voila I'avenir magnifique 
One notre Dieu reserve a ses soldats. 
Mais parmi nous il n'est point de coeur lache, 
A son appel tons nons obeirons, 
Nous braverons et la cangue et la hache, 
Oui, s'il faut mourir, nous mourrons. 

Partez, amis, &c. 

Bientot, bientot, nous courrons sur vos traces, 
Cherchant partout une ame a convertir; 
Nous franchirons ces immenses espaces, 
Et nous irons tons precher et mourir. 
Oh! le beau jour, quand le Roi des Apotres 
Viendra combler le desir de nos coeurs, 
Recompenser vos travaux et les notres, 
Et nous proclamer tons vainqueurs! 

Partez, amis, &c. 

En nous quittant vous demeurez nos freres, 
Pensez a nous, devant Dieu, chaque jour; 
Restons unis par de saintes prieres, 
Restons unis dans son divin amour. 
O Dieu Jesus notre roi, notre maitre, 
Protegez-nous, veillez sur notre sort, 
A vous nos coeurs, notre sang, tout notre etre, 
A vous, a la vie, a la mort. 

Partez, amis, adieu pour cette vie, 
Portez au loin le nom de notre Dieu, 
Nous nous retrouverons un jour dans la patrie, 
Adieu, freres, adieu. 



232 



CHANT OF DEPARTURE. 

Translated by the Very Rev. Canon Oakely. 

Heralds of Peace ! away, away, 
Speed blithely o'er the main; 

No voice shall now your progress stay ; 
No bonds your zeal enchain. 

This is the day, the wished- for day; 

Heralds of Peace ! away, away. 

How beauteous shine the feet of those 
Who spread the Word of Life, 

And treasures of the Cross disclose 
In lands where sin is rife! 

With duteous love, and reverence meet, 

We kiss, dear friends, those sacred feet. 

We part to meet again no more 

This nether side of Heaven; 
But look for greeting on that shore 

Where friendships ne'er are riven. 
With words of love and hearts of flame 
Bear to the lost their Saviour's name. 

May no rough breeze your courses mar. 

No mists your steps benight, 
Beam o'er your path the ocean's Star, 

And Christ be all your Light. 
With words of love and hearts of flame 
Bear to the lost their Saviour's name. 



233 



Those darksome realms your advent wait. 

Where sin and Satan dwell; 
Where vengeance rages at the gate; 

Where yawns the pit of Hell. 
Bereft of hope and God they lie, 
Beside a deep eternity. 

Soldiers of Christ, subdue the world; 

He claims it for His own. 
Be everywhere His flag unfurl'd, 

So He may reign alone. 
With words of love and hearts of flame 
Bear to the lost their Saviour's name. 

Speed, brothers, speed, though toil and pain 
Your onward course surround : 

Where life is Christ, there death is gain, 
Life lost is glory found. 

Earth's loss is gain, earth's gain but loss ; 

Who seeks the crown, must bear the cross. 

The blood that mantles in your veins 

For Christ shall haply flow ; 
And tortures bind with cramping chains 

The feet at which we bow ; 
And bones be crushed, and flesh be torn, 
'Mid tyrants' rage and people's scorn. 

Go, claim the place and fill the void 

By bonds and death created ; 
Repair the loss of friends destroy'd, 

Of armies decimated ; 
Christ calls you and our martyr's love 
To greet you in the courts above. 



234 



Be we with Christian zeal replete, 

And Apostolic fire, 
Then labours, sufferings, death, are sweet, 

Yea, objects of desire; 
For earthly crowns earth's soldiers strive. 
But we, that dying we may live. 

The biting axe, the halter cord. 

We scorn them and defy; 
If death or safety be the word. 

Then we will choose to die. 
With words of love and hearts of flame 
Bear to the lost their Saviour's name. 

We come, we come, prepared to fight, 

And prison'd souls unbind ; 
To win to glorious realms of light 
The wanderer and the blind. 

Oh ! the bright day when, from His throne, 
The King of Kings shall bless, and own. 

And call His chosen home; 
And recompense each labour done. 
Each passion borne, each convert won. 

With endless bliss to come. 

Though far away, our brothers still ye are. 
Friends of our heart, associates in our prayers. 
When on your God ye bend your raptured eyes, 
What time ye lift the priceless Sacrifice, 
Think ye on friends at home, and say, "O Lord, 
Loved be Thy Name, Thy Majesty adored; 
Thine is our heart, our blood, our being's breath ; 
Thine is our all in life, and Thine in death !" 



235 



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